ArticlePloS one2013
Crocins with high levels of sugar conjugation contribute to the yellow colours of early-spring flowering crocus tepals.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bioconversion of carotenoids into high-value crocins using a marine sponge carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Natural CCD2 Variants and RNA Interference for Boosting Crocin Biosynthesis in Tomato.Biology · 2025Article
- Montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins: Biotechnology tools and delivery systems.Biotechnology reports (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2025Article
- Metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses of yellow-flowered crocuses to infer alternative sources of saffron metabolites.BMC plant biology · 2024Article
- Production of Saffron Apocarotenoids inMetabolites · 2023Article
- Review
- Farming for Pharming: Novel Hydroponic Process in Contained Environment for Efficient Pharma-Grade Production of Saffron.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Novel Insight into the Volatile Profile and Antioxidant Properties ofAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A New Glycosyltransferase Enzyme from Family 91, UGT91P3, Is Responsible for the Final Glucosylation Step of Crocins in Saffron (International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- A review of medicinal plant of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as source in tuberculosis drug discovery.Saudi journal of biological sciences · 2020Review
- Heterologous expression of xanthophyll esterase genes affects carotenoid accumulation in petunia corollas.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Multi-species transcriptome analyses for the regulation of crocins biosynthesis in Crocus.BMC genomics · 2019Article
- Transcriptome analysis in tissue sectors with contrasting crocins accumulation provides novel insights into apocarotenoid biosynthesis and regulation during chromoplast biogenesis.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Unraveling Massive Crocins Transport and Accumulation through Proteome and Microscopy Tools during the Development of Saffron Stigma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2017Article
- Carotenoid Cleavage Oxygenases from Microbes and Photosynthetic Organisms: Features and Functions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2016Review
- Intron retention and rhythmic diel pattern regulation of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 2 during crocetin biosynthesis in saffron.Plant molecular biology · 2016Article
- Structural characterization of highly glucosylated crocins and regulation of their biosynthesis during flower development in Crocus.Frontiers in plant science · 2015Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Crocus sativus is the source of saffron spice, the processed stigma which accumulates glucosylated apocarotenoids known as crocins. Crocins are found in the stigmas of other Crocuses, determining the colourations observed from pale yellow to dark red. By contrast, tepals in Crocus species display a wider diversity of colours which range from purple, blue, yellow to white. In this study, we investigated whether the contribution of crocins to colour extends from stigmas to the tepals of yellow Crocus species. Tepals from seven species were analysed by UPLC-PDA and ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS revealing for the first time the presence of highly glucosylated crocins in this tissue. β-carotene was found to be the precursor of these crocins and some of them were found to contain rhamnose, never before reported. When crocin profiles from tepals were compared with those from stigmas, clear differences were found, including the presence of new apocarotenoids in stigmas. Furthermore, each species showed a characteristic profile which was not correlated with the phylogenetic relationship among species. While gene expression analysis in tepals of genes involved in carotenoid metabolism showed that phytoene synthase was a key enzyme in apocarotenoid biosynthesis in tepals. Expression of a crocetin glucosyltransferase, previously identified in saffron, was detected in all the samples. The presence of crocins in tepals is compatible with the role of chromophores to attract pollinators. The identification of tepals as new sources of crocins is of special interest given their wide range of applications in medicine, cosmetics and colouring industries.
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