Saffron from Kashmir

Saffron is a grown plant, dried stigmas (thread-like parts of the flower) are used to make spice. It takes 70,000 saffron flowers to produce a single pound of saffron spice. Due to the amount of labor involved in harvesting, saffron is one of the world's most expensive spices. The stigmas are also used to make medicine. Saffron is used for asthma, cough, and whooping cough and to loosen phlegm (as an expectorant). It is also used for sleep problems (insomnia), cancer, “hardening of the arteries” ( atheroscleosis), intestinal gas ( flatulence), depression, Alzheimer’s disease, fright, shock, spitting up blood ( hemoptysis), pain, heartburn, and dry skin. Women use saffron for menstrual cramps and premenstrual (PMS). Men use it to prevent early orgasm (premature ejaculation) and infertility. Saffron is also used to increase interest in sex (as an aphrodisiac) and it induces sweating. People are appliny saffron directly to the scalp for baldness (alopecia). In foods, saffron is used as a spice, yellow food coloring, and as a flavoring agent. In manufacturing, saffron extracts are used as fragrance in perfumes and as a dye for cloth.