WITHDRAWN: Efficient Purification of Crocin-I from Saffron Stigmas Using Antisolvent Precipitation: Implications for Food Technology

Major bioactive compounds, the crocins of saffron, have important antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. The high commercial cost of crocins relates to the difficulty of acquiring large quantities in a high state of purity. In the current study, antisolvent precipitation, optimized through response surface methods, was applied to the selective increase of the concentration of both total crocins and crocin-I from the extract of saffron. Optimum extraction conditions were obtained for the concentration of saffron 59.94 mg/mL, antisolvent-to-solvent ratio 3.09, addition rate 782.42 μL/min, and temperature 28.3°C. The employment of ethyl acetate as the selected antisolvent increased the total crocin concentration by 81%, whereby 55% refers to the content of total crocins as crocin-I. Alternatively, using ethyl acetoacetate enhanced crocin-I’s proportion from 26% to 47%. This process also reduced impurities like picrocrocin. By utilizing antisolvent precipitation, the method offers a cost-effective, straightforward approach for enriching crocins, especially thermally sensitive crocin-I, without the need for complex heating or cooling systems. This method proves valuable for improving the yield of medical-grade crocins, offering a practical solution to the challenges of saffron extraction and purification. The simplicity and efficiency of this approach make it an attractive option for large-scale crocin production.