Flowers yield a coloring principle, carthamin.

- Seeds contain a fixed oil, 28.7%; proteins, 14.11%; cellulose, 30.6%.

- Flowers yielded eight compounds: palmitic acid, 1-O-hexadecanolenin, trans-3-tridecene-5,7,9,11-tetrayne-1,2-diol, trans-trans-3,11-tridecadiene -5,7,9-triyne -1,2-diol, coumaric acid, daucosterol, apigenin and kaempferol.

-Flower petals have yielded carthamin, safflor yellows A and B, Safflormin A and C, isocarthamin, isocarthamidin, hydroxysafflor yellow A. A water fraction yielded four compounds, viz., 6-hydroxykaempferol 3-O-glucoside (1), 6-hydroxykaempferol 7-O-glucoside (2, a new compound), kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside (3) and quercetin 3-O-glucoside (4). 

- Study isolated a new phenylpropanoid derivative, carthamusin A, along with two known compounds ß-daucosterol and stigmasterol