HPLC quantification of major active components from 11 different saffron (Crocus sativus L.) sources

Eleven certified saffron samples (Crocus sativus L.), one each from Azerbaijan, China, Greece, France, India, Iran, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey and the Sigma Chemical Company, were analyzed by using an HPLC photodiode array detection method. This analysis quantified the 10 major saffron compounds in each sample and their concentration was analyzed at three different wavelengths. Results indicated that the Greek, Indian, New Zealand, and Spanish saffron extracts possessed the highest concentrations of water-soluble glycosidic carotenoids (⩾8.0%) suggesting that they could be a good source of this type of metabolites for further biological evaluation.