The effect of salt stress on some secondary metabolites of saffron

In order to investigate the effect of salinity stress on the amount of two important metabolites of saffron (Crocin) and Picrocrocin (Flavor Factor), saffron corms were planted in hydroponic conditions in pots containing perlite and in controlled laboratory conditions with 100 ml of ½ Hoagland nutrient solution containing 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 mM Sodium chloride (NaCl) were irrigated for four weeks. After flowering, stigmas were harvested and crocin and picrocrocin were separated and purified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with detector spectrophotometer (HPLC-DAD). The results showed a significant difference in the amount of crocin between different salinity treatments at 5% level, the highest decrease in crocin content was observed at 120 mM NaCl, which was 98% lower than the control treatment. There was no significant difference in picrocrocin in different treatments, but in the 90 and 120 treatments, there was a significant decrease of 45% and 41%, respectively. According to the results of the present study, salinity decreased the secondary metabolites of saffron.