Various techniques useful for determination of adulterants in valuable saffron: A review

Abstract Background Saffron (Crocus Sativus L.) is an ancient spice, having a long history of therapeutic and medicinal uses, in different countries around the world. Saffron has high market value with ever increasing demand but, its producing areas are limited due to requirement of specific agro-climatic conditions for growth of Saffron. Therefore, fraudulent practices are frequently employed by the traders, to meet up the market demands, as well as fetching higher economic benefits. In contemporary scenario of global trading, it is imperative to authenticate the quality of Saffron that can be done by modern instruments and techniques, available for determination of adulterants. Scope and approach In this review, a brief overview of different adulterants including plant based and chemical based origin is provided, along with detailed discussion on varied number of techniques including chromatographic techniques, spectroscopic techniques, sensor based techniques and molecular techniques, employed for determination of adulteration in Saffron in various countries. Key findings and conclusions Adulteration by extraneous materials, not only lowers down the quality of Saffron but it may also lead to severe health complications in public. Different techniques have certain advantages with some limitations regarding detection limit and their suitability for detection of specific type of adulterants (natural or synthetic). In this review, various techniques already in use or having futuristic potential for detection of different types of adulterants in Saffron are discussed, that can pave the way of future research efforts.