西紅花苷又名藏紅花素、藏紅花苷或番紅花苷，為西紅花的主要活性成分。現(xiàn)代研究表明西紅花苷對多種中樞神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)和心血管系統(tǒng)疾病具有較好療效，同時還具有抗癌、抗炎、抗氧化、保肝利膽及抗糖尿病等作用，此外長期以來還作為香料、染料和食品添加劑。為了充分開發(fā)利用西紅花苷，對西紅花苷近年來藥理活性的研究熱點進(jìn)行綜述。

Crocin, also known as safflower, saffron glycosides or crocin, is the main active ingredient of Crocus sativus. The current studies have shown that crocin had a good effect for the variety of central nervous system and cardiovascular disease, also possessed anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, protecting liver and anti-diabetic effects. Meantime, crocin has been widely used as a spice, food colorant and food additive for a long time. In order to advance the development and utilization of crocin, the pharmacological researches of crocin are reviewed in this paper.

國家自然科學(xué)基金資助項目（81503220）；江蘇省自然科學(xué)基金資助項目（BK20150706）；中央高?；究蒲袠I(yè)務(wù)費培育項目（2015PY018）