Abstract
In previous works on authentic samples of saffron of known history (harvest and processing year, storage conditions, and length of time) some biomarkers were proposed using both FT-IR and NMR metabolomics regarding the shelf life of the product. This work addresses the difficulties to trace back the “age” of commercial saffron samples of unknown history, sets a limit value above which these products can be considered substandard, and offers a useful tool to combat saffron mislabeling and fraud with low-quality saffron material. Investigations of authentic and commercial saffron samples of different origin and harvest year, which had been stored under controlled conditions for different lengths of time, allowed a clear-cut clustering of samples in two groups according to the storage period irrespectively of the provenience. In this respect, the four-year cut off point proposed in our previous work assisted to trace back the “age” of unknown samples and to check for possible mislabeling practices.
Highlights
Saffron, the spice that is exclusively produced from the stigmas of the Crocus sativus L. flower after drying under different conditions [1] is the most expensive spice in the world and, the target of frequent fraud and mislabeling practices [2]
The present study aims at tracing back the “age” of various saffron samples (n =17) purchased from open markets and retail shops in major saffron-consuming countries by taking advantage of the so far results from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and FT-IR-based metabolomics studies
The typical chromatographic profiles of authentic saffron at 440, 310, and 250 nm were produced in all cases, showing that the commercial samples contained five to six crocetin esters and picrocrocin along with some flavonoid glucosides at varying levels
Summary
The spice that is exclusively produced from the stigmas of the Crocus sativus L. flower after drying under different conditions [1] is the most expensive spice in the world and, the target of frequent fraud and mislabeling practices [2]. The chemical analysis of mixtures, such as food extracts, moved from the classical approach based on chemical isolation followed by structure elucidation toward metabolomics This switch allows the identification and quantification of all molecules present in a biological system, representing a powerful tool in food science for monitoring, in a wider context, product quality and authenticity [4,5,6]. 3632 quality categories [22] or according to their actual content in major metabolites (crocetin esters and picrocrocin) was carried out using conventional techniques (UV–VIS, HPLC–DAD) This is the first report on the traceability of commercial saffron samples performed by a combined approach of FT-IR and 1 H-NMR metabolomics. Our approach is expected to be considered in a forthcoming revision of the ISO 3632 technical standard
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