en Pharmacology Pharmacology مقاله پژوهشی Original Research Article <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Background & Objective:</span></span><b> </b></b>One of the problems associated with exporting traditional bulk saffron during the harvest season is the uncontrolled microbial load. Hence, it is crucial&nbsp;to discover a suitable method for microbial decontamination. Cold plasma technology is a safe, non-thermal, and efficient approach to deactivating different pathogenic microorganisms in different food or agricultural products. Considering the nutritional and medicinal importance of saffron (<i>Crocus</i> <i>sativus</i> L.), the present research aimed to study the efficacy of cold plasma for decontaminating saffron.<br> <b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">&nbsp;Materials & Methods:</span></span></span></b> <span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">The cold plasma method was used to treat samples of saffron under various conditions (two different gas types, two different pressures, and two different frequencies, but one power, one exposure time, one gas injection, and one temperature). Subsequently, the treatments&#39; microbial load was measured at a probability level of 1% compared to the control.</span><span style="color:black"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt"> </span></span><br> <b><span lang="EN-IN"><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Results: </span></span></span>&nbsp;</b><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">Our results indicated that the microbial load in the treated samples was reduced by cold plasma technology. The highly effective in reducing microbial load was shown in conditions with cold-vacuumed plasma systems, radio frequency energy (RF) with a 13.56 MHz, pressure at 10^-2 Torr, exposure time of 5 min, injected gas with air and argon (50 L min^-1), the temperature at 25^oC, and power of 30 W. This treatment was highly effective in decreasing microbial load by 46.6%.</span><br> <b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Conclusion: </span></span>&nbsp;</b>Hence, the cold plasma technology can be a risk-free approach to reduce the microbial load in spices, particularly saffron. Ultimately, our <i>in vitro</i> results introduce an optimized conditions and primary information for future research on the industrial decontamination of medicinal plants.</span></span></p> Plasma Technology, Microbial Load, Decontamination, Non-thermal Treatment, Saffron 125 130 http://journal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-7102-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Peyman Yari peymanyari91@gmail.com 5200319475328460084307 0009-0001-5708-479X No Medical Biology Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Masoumeh Khanahmadi chem_khanahmadi@yahoo.com 5200319475328460084308 5200319475328460084308 No Department of Medicinal Plants, Institute of Higher Education, Jahad-e-Daneshgahi, Kermanshah Unit, Kermanshah, Iran Ahmad Tajehmiri a_tajemiri@yahoo.com 5200319475328460084309 5200319475328460084309 No Medical Biology Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Saman Hosseini seyedsamanhosseini@yahoo.com 5200319475328460084310 5200319475328460084310 No Medical Biology Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Kheirollah Yari khirollah.yari@yahoo.com 5200319475328460084311 5200319475328460084311 Yes Medical Biology Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran