Safflower is a plant of the Compositae family, also known as red and blue flowers, grass safflower, Du safflower, thorn safflower, etc. It is an annual herb with an orange-red or orange-yellow corolla. Safflower likes warm, dry climates, strong cold resistance, and resistance to barrenness. Resistant to drought and waterlogging, it is suitable for planting on well-drained, moderately fertile sandy soils. Safflower originated in the countries along the Mediterranean Sea. After being introduced into my country, it has been cultivated in most parts of my country, mainly in Xinjiang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shandong, Henan and other places. Safflower is an economic crop that integrates medicinal, edible, oil, feed, and dye. With the in-depth research and development and utilization at home and abroad, its potential practical value and broad development prospects are also getting more and more attention from people.

Pharmacological action

Safflower is a traditional Chinese medicine for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis in my country. It is widely used in clinical treatment of cerebral infarction, coronary heart disease, hypertension and other diseases. Studies have found that safflower yellow has antioxidant effects. Safflower can inhibit immune function. By studying the antihypertensive effect of safflower on spontaneously hypertensive rats and the relationship between renin-angiotensin, the possibility of saflavin for anti-hypertension can be predicted. The flavonoids isolated from safflower have different degrees of inhibition against ADP-induced platelet aggregation in vitro. The anticoagulant effect of safflower flavonoids has a certain relationship with its structure. Using the Genecards database to search for genes related to diabetic nephropathy, it was found that the active ingredients of safflower may protect the kidneys by participating in the regulation of blood rheology such as plasma viscosity and serum total cholesterol, and have protective effects on kidney function. -RAGE signaling pathway and other signaling pathways in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy, etc. Analysis of the pharmacological effects of safflower for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis shows that safflower can inhibit platelet aggregation and prolong the exogenous and endogenous coagulation system, and the pharmacological effects increase with the increase of dose. 

Wei Yuhui and others believe that safflower has the functions of lowering blood pressure and blood lipids, anticoagulant and antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and sedative, uterine excitation, hypoxia tolerance, liver protection, and immunosuppression. By studying the effect of safflower yellow on the proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells and the related molecular mechanisms, it was found that safflower yellow can promote apoptosis by activating apoptosis pathway in vitro, and can inhibit MMP2 to promote apoptosis. Inhibits the metastasis of breast cancer cells and identifies safflower yellow as a potential drug for the treatment of mastospasm. Studies have found that saffron extract can improve the microstructure of cancellous bone trabecular bone in rats, improve bone metabolism, reduce bone turnover rate, and have a therapeutic effect on osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats. Rats have a protective effect, and its effect may be related to its anti-oxidation and scavenging of oxygen free radicals.

In order to explore whether crocin can prevent the adverse effects of early chronic stress on adult behavior, adult male stressed rats were used as the research objects. The stressed rats showed anxiety and depression behavior. Early stress-induced behavioral and morphological deficits in rats were reduced, suggesting that crocin can prevent early-stage stress-induced behavioral and morphological abnormalities in adults. Wu Jimu et al. used molecular docking technology to analyze the interaction and network characteristics of safflower components and targets and found that multiple components of safflower act on the regulation of bile acid and bilirubin metabolic targets, and promote bile acid by inhibiting bile acid production. , bile salts and bilirubin are excreted from the liver to treat cholestasis.