Research progress on chemical components of Crocus sativus and their pharmacological effects
Crocus sativus is a traditional Chinese medicine belonging to the genus Crocus in the Iridaceae.Its chemical constituents mainly include terpenoids,phenolic acids,flavonoids,alkaloids and polysaccha-rides.Among them,crocin,crocetin,picrocrocin and safranal in terpenoids are the main pharmacodynam-ic substances of C.sativus.Pharmacological studies have shown that it exhibits wide pharmacological ac-tivities,including anti-tumor,anti-oxidant,anti-inflammation,immune regulation,anti-depression and anti-diabetes.Combined with the relevant literature at home and abroad,the research progress on chemi-cal components and pharmacological effects of C.sativus is reviewed,which provides a reference for the further research of C.sativus.