My Persian wife and MIL swear that saffron can be toxic. A quick Google search revealed little corroboration for their belief. Personally, I love the stuff and feel that more is better. However, I don’t wish to have some coroner examining my brightly yellow-stained innards someday saying, “Yup, it’s a classic case of saffron poisoning.” Please give me the SD.
Saffron helps in the digestive process, carminative, and
also helps regulate menstruation. Saffron is used as a
coloring and flavoring agent because of its pungent
colour and aromatic flavor. In large doses it can affect
the color of urine, sweat, and other body secretions,
turning them bright yellow. It can also produce a state
of drunkenness, dizziness, vertigo, and headaches.
There is no toxicity when taken in recomended
dosage.
fenrir, when you quote here you are required to cite the source, even if it isn’t from an obviously copyrighted work. To do otherwise is to invite accusations of plagiarism. Your post appears to come directly from http://www.spanish-gourmet.com/azafran/botanica.htm
bibliophage
moderator, GQ
And since saffron seems to run around $35 per ounce, it’s not the kind of thing where you actually take large doses.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph3.htm#saffron
Says that “saffron is produced from the crushed stigmas of autumn crocus blossoms (Crocus sativus).”
While http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/botany/acrohst.html tells us:
“Colchicum autumnale is most commonly known as autumn crocus, but in various regions it is known as naked-ladies, colchicum, and meadow saffron. It should be noted that it’s not a crocus, and it’s not saffron, and should definitely not be used in place of saffron in cooking because eating any part of this plant can kill you.”
The common name Autumn Crocus seems to be applied to two entirely different plants ! One of them is the source of saffron. The other produces the alkaloid colchicine in lethal quantities. It seems that that could give rise to the stories your wife is telling you.
Squink, that’s not quite right; Saffron is from Crocus Sativus but the flowers appear in the spring
The Autumn Crocus (Colchicum Sp) is unrelated (or not closely related anyway - Crocus is in the Iris family, whereas Colchicum is in the Lily family.
Colchicum is quite dangerously toxic, although it has been used in medicine too I think.
Saffron is mildly toxic, but in the kind of small doses one ingests in food, it won’t harm you.
No it’s not right, but both are commonly called crocus, even sometimes autumn crocus. It’s easy to see how anyone wondering about saffron toxicity could be bamboozled by the similar name and much greater toxicity of the Colchicum Sp.
Colchicine is used in medicine as a treatment for gout. It can also be used to double the chromosome number (ploidy) of plants.
I think I’d be inclined to say that people who describe Crocus Sativus as Autumn Crocus, do so mistakenly, it is at least semantically incorrect.
From The Complete German Commission E Monographs Terapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines, 1998 American Botanical Council, page 371 (in the section on “Unapproved Herbs”):
From PDR for Hebal Medicines, 2000 Medical Economics Company, Inc, page 654: