Metal Determination in Iranian Saffron

The present investigation reports a quantitative analysis of metals in the saffron samples collected from seven different saffron production areas in the Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. Khorasan Razavi is the leading producer of saffron in Iran, and more than 95% of the global production of this expensive spice is attributed to Iran. Since environmental pollution is increasing, saffron is contaminated with various organic and inorganic contaminants such as heavy metals. Twenty-one saffron samples were collected in the flowering season of 2018 and analyzed for metal content. The concentration of microelements and heavy metals including Zn, Fe, Ca, Mn, Mg, Na, K, Pb, Cd, Cu, and Cr was determined in the samples collected from three farms in each production area with graphite furnace and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results revealed that the collected saffron stigmas contain a wide range of minerals and heavy metals with different concentrations. Potassium is the most abundant element, and Cd had the least concentration in the saffron. It can be concluded that ecological management plans such as reducing chemical fertilizers and improving organic fertilizers can decline the extent of heavy metals in the saffron.