SAFFRON is a known spice, commonly referred to as “saffron crocus.” The spice we use in cooking is, however, the flower of the plant Crocus sativus. As a spice, it is useful both as seasoning and food coloring. So far, I have not used it in my occasional home cooking because I am not familiar with its taste. Maybe I will try using it in the future; that is so for good medical reason.
Six researchers from the People’s Hospital of Rizhao in China reported that saffron is potentially capable of preventing the development of liver cancer in three ways:
- It significantly inhibits unregulated cell growth, which is essentially the behavior of cancer cells.
- It stops the cell cycle in the reversible inactive or resting (Gap 0) phase and in the pre-proliferation (Gap 1) phase. Thus, it keeps healthy cells healthy and non-proliferating, even if the hyper-proliferation initiation in cancer developing cells occurs.
- It induces cell-bursting (apoptosis) of cells that refused to be inhibited at the G0/G1 phase. Thus, it destroys potentially cancer-developing cells from growing.
The study, which came out on Jan. 17 in the journal Panminerva Medica, observed that after the treatment of liver cancer cells with saffron, an increase in the number of inactive cells was observed. This increased number of G0-phase cells appeared to be the liver cancer cells that the saffron treatment had inhibited.
These results, however, came from a preliminary study, using liver cancer cell lines or laboratory-preserved samples of cancer cells obtained from patients’ cancerous liver cells. Thus, it is still technically a laboratory experiment without involvement of living patients with liver cancer.
Nevertheless, the results are promising as a preventive option against liver cancer.
The Philippine National Nutrition Council (NCC) referred to liver cancer as a “silent epidemic” among Filipinos. It attributed the epidemicity to the Filipinos’ vulnerability to irreversible scarring of their liver (cirrchosis) due to such common vices as alcoholism and smoking and the long-term liver disease Hepatitis B. The NCC considers Hepatitis B as a “major health problem” in the Philippines. Cirrhosis had been observed in 80 percent of all liver cancers.
Other risk factors for liver cancer are nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (found in obese and diabetic individuals) and aflatoxin ingestion (from molding food). It is high time to take extra care of our liver.