Safflower yellow

Safflower, also known as bastard saffron, is a yellow dye that has been used for well over three millennia, having been identified in fabrics from the Egyptian twelfth dynasty. It is derived from the safflower plant, carthamus tinctoria, native to southern Asia and the Middle East. The coloring matter in the plants is a mixture of two components one is yellow, known as safflower yellow B the other, carthamin, is red. Safflower yellow B dissolves in water when fresh safflower flowers are washed with acidulated water. Evaporating the water from the filtered solution leaves the dye as a residue in the form of a powder. Following removal of the yellow component, the red constituent of safflower, carthamin, can be extracted from the flowers by washing them with hot water. In the East, carthamin was widely used in the past, mainly for making cosmetic preparations. 

Safflower Carthamus tinctorius L. Carthamina, Safflower Yellow A and B... 

Carthamus tinctorius L. Hong Jua (Safflower) (flower) Cartharmin, neocarthamin, safflower yellow, quinochalone, safflomin A.33 Promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, restore normal menstruation. 

Exceptions are dyeings with safflower (C.I.1 Natural Red 26) (38) made from the leaves of the dyer s thistle (Carthamus tinctorius L.). The red dye carthamin (C.I. 75140) (38) goes into solution when it is boiled in water. When this solution is poured through a paper filter after it has cooled, the paper is stained red, whereas the filtrate is colorless or is stained light yellow by safflower yellow (C.I. Natural Yellow 5), a second dye of the safflower. When the red stained filter is boiled in 1% ammonia, it becomes irreversibly colorless. 

Another ancient use for safflower is to make dyes. The principal dye, carthamin, is a bright red colorant that is extracted from red-flowered plants after the yellow dye has been leached with water. Carthamin (C43H42O22) imparts a scarlet red color to silk and cotton (173-176). Fine examples of its durability from ancient times can be found in museums in Egypt, China, and Japan (3). Safflower yellow pigment (C16H20O11) must be removed to allow the red dye to be extracted in earlier times the yellow was discarded. A factory has been established in Xinjiang, China, to manufacture large quantities of both types of dye (173). 

Safflower yellow Herbal medicine Microwave-assisted extraction UV—Vis 8.0 pg mL1 Flow injection system in-line extract filtration and dilution [444]... 

L.-G. Chen, L. Ding, H.-R. Zhang, J. Li, Y.-T. Wang, X.-P. Wang, C.-L. Qu, H.-Q. Zhang, Dynamic microwave-assisted extraction coupled with on-line spectrophotometric determination of safflower yellow in Flos Carthami, Anal. Chim. Acta 580 (2006) 75. 

Safflower, and the food colorant safflower yellow, have been shown to have antiplatelet activity in animal and in vitro studies and may prolong blood coagulation time (Chen and Chen 2004 Zang et al. 2002 Zhu 1998). 

Alcoholic and aqueous extracts of safflower inhibited ADP-and collagen-induced aggregation of rabbit and rat platelets (Zhu 1998). The food colorant safflower yellow inhibited ADP-induced platelet aggregation in rabbit blood platelets and prolonged the rabbit plasma prothrombin time (Zang et al. 2002). 

In mice intraperitoneally administered 50 to 450 mg/ kg of the food colorant safflower yellow daily for 8 days, a decrease in serum lysozyme concentration and phago-cytosing functions of both peritoneal macrophages and peripheral leukocytes was observed. The treatment also diminished the production of plaque-forming cells and specific rosette-forming cells, and inhibited the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction and the activation of T suppressor cells elicited by supraoptimal immunization (Lu et al. 1991). 

The LD50 of the compound carthamin orally administered to mice could not be determined at doses up to 8 g/kg (Zhu 1998). The LD50 of the food colorant safflower yellow intraperitoneally administered to mice was 7.54 g/kg (Zang et al. 2002). 

Takeda, N., and Y. Yasui. 1985. Identification of mutagenic substances in roselle color, elderberry color and safflower yellow. Agric. Biol. Chem. 49 1851-1852. 

The plant (false saffron, dyers saffron) has been grown since antiquity as an oil seed crop and for its flowers from which the dye (carthamin and safflower yellow) is produced. The plant is a spiny erect herb resembling the thistle (30-100 cm high). There are two distinct varieties, one very spiny, the other moderate or spineless. The seeds resemble sunflower seed but are approximately half the size oil content is 36-43% when dehulled. The hull can form a large proportion of the seed (35-65%). The higher-oil-containing... 

Contains a complex mixture of red and yellow pigments including 20-30% safflower yellow (safflower yellow SY) which is composed of safflomin A (75%), SY-2 (15%), SY-3, and SY-4, all chalcones glycosides of chalcone (e.g., carthamin yellow) and qui-none (e.g., carthamone red), with the latter predominant in the commercial product also colorless flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides (carthamidin, isocarthamidin, neocarthamin) safflower polysaccharide (glucose, xylose. 

Safflower yellow has immunosuppressive and strong anticoagulant activities and safflower polysaccharide has immunopotentiat-ing effects. Other activities of safflower extracts include cardiac stimulant, vasodilating, hypolipemic, hypotensive, uterine stimulant, and so on. Toxicities are low i.v. LD50 of carthamin in mice is 2.35 0.14g/kg while safe oral dose is >8 g/kg i.p. MLD of decoction in mice is 1.2 g/kg and a 50% injection when dropped in rabbit eye produced no irritation to its conjunctiva. 

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