Iranian Firm Produces Organic Saffron by Dry Farming

“We have produced organic saffron that does not require water. We succeeded in extracting antioxidant colors that turn into natural pigments,” said Sakineh Tayyeb, the managing director of the technological company stationed at the incubator center of Islamic Azad University’s Marand branch.

“We have worked on production of this product for several years and have been cultivating saffron aeroponics in a greenhouse,” she added.

Noting that the product is organic and enjoys excellent active ingredients, Tayyeb said, “This product has chicory and petals that can be used in the food, health and cosmetic industries by extracting essential oils and antioxidants.”

“The water requirement of this product is very low and does not require irrigation, and secondly, in a greenhouse, the water requirement reaches zero,” she added.

Tayyeb also said that a team from Turkey is due to visit the company’s saffron farm and product for possible exports.

In a relevant development in July, Iranian researchers at a knowledge-based company used nanotechnology to produce essential oils, extracts and active plant substances (API) from saffron and other medicinal plants.

“The main activity of our company is the formulation of health-oriented and natural products in the field of food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries by using the nano-encapsulation method (nisome and liposome) along with a specialized sensory evaluation test,” Parisa Mardani, the managing director of the knowledge-based company stationed at Khorassan Razavi Science and Technology Park, told ANA.

Noting that the researchers of her company have succeeded in producing essential oils, extracts and active plant substances (API) from saffron and other medicinal plants by using nanotechnology, she said, “They have now succeeded in extracting pure crocin in three pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic grades; the purity of crocin for pharmaceutical use is 99.9%, for food use it is more than 40% and for cosmetic use it is more than 20%.”

Mardani stated that we also extracted safranal from saffron and anthocyanin from saffron petals, and added, “We have also extracted effective medicinal substances like barberry berberine, thyme thymol, mint menthol, and turmeric curcumin.”

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