Saffron can improve vision and prevent sight loss

As I was flicking through the Sunday papers yesterday I came across an article in The Sunday Telegraph, written by Richard Gray the Telegraphs science correspondent. Scientists at University of L'Aqula in Italy and Sydney University in Australia, have found that saffron the Indian spice which we use in rice and pilau dishes to be beneficial in strengthening the retinal cells in patients suffering from macular degeneration, the most common form of blindness in the elderly. Tests in animals also showed that saffron protected the eyes against bright sunlight and slowed the progress of retinitis pigmentosa a genetic disease. Prof Silvia Bisti, from the university of L'Aquila said: "Saffron seems to possess a number of properties that are protective to vision." 

"We are now trying to understand the mechanism, but it appears to block cell death. Saffron components have strong antioxidant properties."

Macular degeneration affects more than 500,000 people in the UK. About two per cent of people over fifty years of age suffer from the disease, which is caused by gradual damage to the cells in the retina at the back of the eye.