Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Saffron
Expensive, but Worth it
Family: Iridaceae; (includes Iris, Gladiolus, Crocus)
Genus and Species: Crocus Sativus
Also known as: Saffron Crocus or Spanish Saffron, but not American Saffron, which is Safflower
Parts used: Stigmas (part of the pistil)
Saffron is the yellow-gold spice that for centuries was literally worth its weight in gold. It still is, costing around $500 an ounce. Like the price of gold, saffron’s value in herbal Healing has fluctuated. But its value may be on the rise again because of its potential to help reduce some risk factors for heart disease, the nation’s leading cause of death.
75,000 Flowers to the Pound
The Arabs introduced saffron into Spain around the 8th century, and that country has been a major exporter ever since. Saffron’s violet, lilylike flowers contain three yellow-orange stigmas, the part with economic value. Used as a dye, spice, medicine, and perfume, saffron stigmas have been in great demand since ancient times. It takes about 75,000 flowers to yield I pound of saffron. You don’t have to be an economist to understand why this herb has always been so expensive.
Because of its value, saffron has a long history of adulteration. The adulterant of choice has always been safflower, also a source of yellow-red dyes and variously known as fake saffron, dyer’s saffron, and bastard saffron.
Egyptian Aromatic
Saffron was a favorite of the ancient Egyptians The nobility wore robes dyed with saffron, anointed themselves with saffron perfumes, ate foods spiced with the herb, and used it like other aromatics to treat head, respiratory, and gastrointestinal complaints.
India’s traditional Ayurvedic physicians considered saffron a circulatory stimulant, kidney and liver remedy, cholera treatment, menstruation promoter and aphrodisiac. Chinese physicians prescribed it for depression, menstrual complaints, and complications of childbirth.
Despite its cultivation in Moorish Spain, saffron was rare in northern Europe until after the Crusades. But by the 14th century, it had become so popular as a dye, spice, perfume, and medicine that spice merchants throughout the continent were known as saffron grocers.
Under the Doctrine of Signatures-the medieval belief that plants’ physical appearances revealed their Healing value-anything yellow was linked to the liver’s yellow bile and considered good for that organ. Folk healers recommended saffron for jaundice. They also used it to treat insomnia and cancer.
Highly Regarded, Widely Touted
Herbalist John Gerard called saffron a lifesaver: “For those at deeth’s doure and almost past breathing, saffron bringeth breath again.”
Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper considered it “elegant … exhilerating … and useful. … It strengthens the heart exceedingly … [Saffron] is particularly serviceable in disorders of the breast … and hysteric [menstrual] depressions. It strengthens the stomach, helps digestion, cleanses the lungs, and is good in coughs.” But for all his praise, Culpeper also considered saffron potentially hazardous: “When the dose is too large, it produces a heaviness of the head and sleepiness. Some have fallen into convulsive laughter, which ended in death.”
In 1851, scientists isolated the herb’s most active constituent, crocetin, which America’s 19th-century Eclectics prescribed as a menstrual remedy, menstruation promoter, and treatment for childhood fevers. But America’s botanical physicians considered saffron “too costly” and noted the herb was so frequently adulterated, preparations called saffron could not be relied upon to contain the herb.
Contemporary herbalists recommend saffron as a sedative, expectorant, sexual stimulant, pain reliever, digestive aid, and menstruation promoter.