Inhibition of breast cancer cell proliferation by style constituents of different Crocus species.

Among the different species of Crocus, only C. sativus has been extensively studied for the composition and the biological properties of its styles, since these constitute the well-known spice saffron, which is widely used in the Mediterranean, Indian and Chinese diet. With high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and UV/vis spectroscopy, the presence of hydrophilic carotenoids in the styles of three other Crocus taxa, endemic in Greece, C.