Authentication of Market Samples of Saffron by Pharmacognosy HPLC HPTLC and DNA Barcoding

Abstract

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is used all around the world as a spice. It is an autumn flowering perennial herb from Iridaceae family. It is a sterile triploid (2n = 3x = 24), and reproduces by corm multiplication. It is the world s most expensive spice, commonly called as red gold with a trade value of about 30 /g as estimated by International Organization of Standardization (ISO). Due to the high economic value, saffron is reported to be one of the most adulterated food commodity. This type of adulteration is commonly referred to as Economically Motivated Adulteration (EMA) or food fraud newline