title: Chemical constituents and bioactivities of the liposoluble fraction from different medicinal parts of Crocus sativus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Crocus sativus Linn. (Iridaceae), commonly known as saffron, becomes more and more popular due to its versatile biological and medicinal properties. At present, studies mainly focus on the traditional medicinal part, the saffron stigma, with less attention to the other parts of saffron, such as the perianth, the stamen, and the corm, which are high yield compared to the stigma and also possess various pharmacological effects.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the chemical compositions, antifungal, cytotoxic, and antioxidant activities of the ether fractions from the stamen, perianth, and stigma of saffron.
  
  
  METHODS
  The chemical constituents of the ether fractions from different parts of saffron were investigated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Several pathogenic fungi isolates and tumor cell lines were employed to evaluate the antifungal and cytotoxic activities of these three ether fractions. 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay was used to determine the free radical-scavenging activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ether fractions composition of the three C. sativus parts are different from each other, but lauric acid, hexadecanoic acid, 4-hydroxydihydro-2(3H)-furanone, and stigmasterol were the common constituents shared by all the three fractions. The stamen ether fraction displayed the strongest antifungal and cytotoxic activities, whereas both of the saffron stamen and perianth ether fractions exhibited significant antioxidant activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings demonstrate that the saffron stamen and perianth possess significant antifungal, cytotoxic, and antioxidant activities as well as the stigma, though not to the same extent, prompting us to expand the medicinal resource and make best use of this valuable plant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Guohe Road, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Cheng-Jian
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wen-Hui
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Lu-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D027622:Crocus / Q000737:chemistry*; D035264:Flowers; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D000975:Antioxidants; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D010936:Plant Extracts