Abstract

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Greek red saffron (Crocus Sativus L.) as a component in cosmetic sunscreen products. For the preparation of oil-in-water emulsions saffron used either as an aqueous solution (1%w/v and 2%w/v) or as ground stigmas (1% w/w and 2% w/w) .The pollens of the saffron were dried and powdered in a grinder. A control reference emulsion without saffron was also prepared. The sun protection factors (SPFs) of the emulsions were determined by anin vitroultraviolet spectrophotometry method. The stability of emulsions during time were evaluated by measuring pH, conductivity and viscosity of the emulsions. It was concluded from this study that the SPF of saffron emulsions in all cases were significantly higher than that of the reference emulsion and that as the proportion of saffron increases the SPF values increases too. The emulsions containing the ground stigmas give a slightly higher SPF values than that of the emulsions containing aqueous solutions of saffron. These results show that saffron can act as a very good antisolar agent against the harmful UV radiation.

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