AUTHOR=Ali Anwar , Yu Liang , Kousar Safura , Khalid Waseem , Maqbool Zahra , Aziz Afifa , Arshad Muhammad Sajid , Aadil Rana Muhammad , Trif Monica , Riaz Sakhawat , Shaukat Horia , Manzoor Muhammad Faisal , Qin Hong TITLE=Crocin: Functional characteristics, extraction, food applications and efficacy against brain related disorders JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition VOLUME=9 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.1009807 DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.1009807 ISSN=2296-861X ABSTRACT=

Crocin is a bioactive compound that naturally occurs in some medicinal plants, especially saffron and gardenia fruit. Different conventional and novel methods are used for its extraction. Due to some control conditions, recent methods such as ultrasonic extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, enzyme-associated extraction, microwave extraction, and pulsed electric field extraction are widely used because these methods give more yield and efficiency. Crocin is incorporated into different food products to make functional foods. However, it can also aid in the stability of food products. Due to its ability to protect against brain diseases, the demand for crocin has been rising in the pharmaceutical industry. It also contain antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antidepressant qualities. This review aims to describe crocin and its role in developing functional food, extraction, and bioavailability in various brain-related diseases. The results of the literature strongly support the importance of crocin against various diseases and its use in making different functional foods.