Crocus is also called crocus and crocus. The saffron produced in ancient Persia entered Tibet through India and then was transported to the mainland through Tibet, so it was called saffron. After a long time, it was mistaken for Tibet.
Crocus is native to Persia, Mediterranean, Asia Minor and Iran. At present, Iran is a major producer. Iran and Kashmir produce high-quality saffron, accounting for about 80% of the world's total output, and are also the best producing areas of saffron in the world. Saffron produced in khorasan province is very expensive, and it is called "soft gold". Depending on the quality, it starts at tens of dollars per gram.
Many historians believe that saffron first came to China with the Mongols invading Persia. But many people think that saffron (called tulip) was introduced to China with the eastward advance of Buddhism in the Han and Jin Dynasties. At that time, the Indian Buddha used the whole saffron, and the merchants took its stigma with saffron and sold it after withering. According to Buddhist scriptures, tulips are not only practical, but also used for daubing and bathing to treat "all seriously ill people". Japanese scholars have verified that the tulips in Buddhist scriptures should be saffron, not the famous tulips in the Netherlands today.
From September to 65438+1October every year, flowers are picked in the sunny morning, the stigma is removed, and dried in the sun, which is the dried safflower. If the oil is polished by reprocessing, it is wet safflower. The quality of dried safflower is better. It should be noted that many crocuses need to be picked manually because of their stigma, so this may be one of the reasons for the high price of crocuses.
For women, saffron has the functions of beautifying, caring skin, removing spots, promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, enriching blood, nourishing blood, regulating blood circulation, nourishing energy and promoting blood circulation. Crocus sativus is used for irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, postpartum blood stasis abdominal pain, etc. According to legend, Wu Zetian often used saffron as tea to achieve the effect of beautifying the skin. In addition, because saffron can lower cholesterol and promote fat metabolism, taking saffron regularly can also play a role in losing weight.
The efficacy and function of crocus sativus recorded in Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica in the Ming Dynasty: crocus sativus, the red and blue flowers there. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was used as food. According to Zhang Hua's natural history, the red and blue flowers in Zhang Qian are planted in the western regions, so this is a kind, or the local atmosphere is slightly different. It smells sweet and non-toxic. Indications: stagnation of heart-qi, qi stagnation and blood circulation. Long service makes people happy. Treat fear.
Efficacy and function of crocus sativus recorded in ancient Iranian medical books: Crocus sativus can treat headache and toothache, and has diuretic, nourishing, beautifying, aphrodisiac, detoxicating, lowering blood pressure and promoting blood circulation. Indians use saffron to treat fever, depression, arthritis, weakness and infertility.
The efficacy and function of crocus sativus recorded in Eating in Yuan Dynasty in China: sweet in taste, flat in nature and non-toxic. The main heart suppresses depression, and long-term eating makes people happy.
The efficacy and functions of crocus sativus recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica in Ming Dynasty in China are: controlling depression, feeling stuffy, appetizing and eating, nourishing the body for a long time, and pleasing the color.
In recent years, saffron has been widely used to treat coronary heart disease, angina pectoris and thromboangiitis obliterans, and has a good regulatory effect on hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. Modern pharmacological studies have found that crocus sativus can effectively prevent and treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and has good anticancer activity.