Abstract

Saffron is of commercial importance for manufacturers because of its flavoring properties in food industry and medicinal properties in pharmaceutical industry. The biological source of saffron is the dried stigma of Crocus sativus L. flower. In order to decrease its cost and meet large demand across the globe; it is adulterated with other spurious materials by criminals to mislead the consumers which in turn renders it completely useless or even harmful. The genuine saffron should meet the quality requirements as laid down by FDA or ISO specifications. In the present chapter, adulteration of saffron and various physical, chemical and analytical techniques are described for the rapid discrimination between pure and impure saffron.