Metabolite profiling of stigmas and stamens from four different C. sativus L.

Saffron, the dried stigmas of the cultivated species Crocus sativus L., is the most valuable spice worldwide. The purpose of this short term scientific mission was to investigate the metabolic profile of different parts of Crocus sativus L. cultivated in Italy: in particular stigmas, stamens, tepals, and leaves were analysed. GC-MS analysis was used for the characterization of volatile compounds present in Italian saffron. The presence and the abundance of safranal and the HTTC, considered quality indices of saffron have been evaluated. The use of HPLC-DAD, FT-IR, and RAMAN explored: a) other quality parameters of saffron samples like crocins and picrocrocin; b) the metabolic profiling of saffron samples with different genetic origin but produced in the same region; c) other C. sativus tissues like: tepals for the presence of anthocyanins and flavonoids, leaves for the presence of phenolic compounds, and stamens, being a possible bioadulterant, were studied to look for potential marker compounds useful for their identification. All the results obtained highlighted some aspects of genuine Italian saffron of commercial grade (Zafferanami S.s.a.).