Crocus sativus

Doxorubicin (Dox), an anthracycline antibiotic, is a chemotherapeutic drug for several cancer treatments. However, its clinical usage has been restricted because of severe side effects, including nephrotoxicity. This study aimed to demonstrate the possible nephroprotective effects of crocin (Cr) against Dox-induced oxidative stress, renal inflammation, renal morphology and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signalling pathways in Dox-exposed rats. Hence, the rats were injected for 15 d consecutively with saline, six different injections of Dox until the cumulative dose reached 12 mg/kg...

OBJECTIVES: The effects of Crocus sativus , safranal, and pioglitazone on aerosolized paraquat (PQ)-induced systemic changes were examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Control (Ctrl) and PQ groups of rats were exposed to saline or PQ (27 and 54 mg/m3, PQ-L and PQ-H) aerosols eight times on alternate days. Nine PQ-H groups were treated with dexamethasone (0.03 mg/kg/day, Dexa), two doses of C. sativus extract (20 and 80 mg/kg/day, CS-L and CS-H), safranal (0.8 and 3.2 mg/kg/day, Saf-L and Saf-H), pioglitazone (5 and 10 mg/kg/day, Pio-L and Pio-H), and the combination of low dose of the pioglitazone and extract or safranal (Pio + CS and Pio + Saf) after the end of PQ exposure...

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) have the ability to self-renew and proliferate which gives them healing properties in various tissues. Aluminium chloride (AlCl3 ) is a chemical compound with harmful effects on health; oxidative stress caused by Aluminium has been reported previously. Crocin, a major component of Crocus sativus (saffron), has antioxidant properties and has shown therapeutic potential. Researchers have been looking for ways to reduce the harmful effects of AlCl3 ...

AIMS: Geophytic plants have evolved to develop underground storage organs (USO) in the active growing season to withstand harsh environments as well as to coordinate growth and reproduction when conditions are favourable. Saffron is an autumn flowering geophyte and an expensive spice crop restricted to certain geographical locations in the world. Saffron, being sterile, does not produce seeds and thus propagates only through corms, the quality of which determines its yield. Corm development in saffron is unexplored and the underlying molecular mechanism is still elusive...

Insomnia affects millions of people worldwide, prompting considerable interest in herbal remedies for its treatment. This review aims to assess the therapeutic potential of such remedies for insomnia by analyzing current scientific evidence. The analysis identified several herbs, including Rosmarinus officinalis, Crocus sativus, Rosa damascena, Curcuma longa, Valeriana officinalis, Lactuca sativa, Portulaca oleracea, Citrus aurantium, Lippia citriodora, and Melissa officinalis, which show promise in improving overall sleep time, reducing sleep latency, and enhancing sleep quality...

Nicotine is a psychostimulant that induces neurochemical and behavioral changes upon chronic administration, leading to neurodegenerative conditions associated with smoking. As of now, no preventive or therapeutic strategies are known to counteract nicotine‑induced neurodegeneration. In this study, we explore the neuroprotective effects of crocin, a bioactive agent commonly found in saffron - a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus - using a rat model. The dose‑dependent effects of crocin were evaluated in nicotine‑induced neurodegeneration and compared with a control group...

Recently, nanotechnology is among the most promising technologies used in all areas of research. The production of metal nanoparticles using plant parts has received significant attention for its environmental friendliness and effectiveness. Therefore, we investigated the possible applications of biological synthesized nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs). In this study, NiONPs were synthesized through biological method using an aqueous extract of saffron stigmas (Crocus sativus L). The structure, morphology, purity, and physicochemical properties of the obtained NPs were confirmed through Scanning/Transmission Electron Microscopy attached with Energy Dispersive Spectrum, X-ray Diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared...

Crocus sativus (saffron) is a globally autumn-flowering plant, and its stigmas are the most expensive spice and valuable herb medicine. Crocus specialized metabolites, crocins, are biosynthesized in distant species, Gardenia (eudicot) and Crocus (monocot), and the evolution of crocin biosynthesis remains poorly understood. With the chromosome-level Crocus genome assembly, we revealed that two rounds of lineage-specific whole genome triplication occurred, contributing important roles in the production of carotenoids and apocarotenoids...

Rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep deprivation (SD) can induce manic-like behaviors including hyperlocomotion. On the other hand, crocin (one of the main compounds of Crocus sativus L. or Saffron) may be beneficial in the improvement of mental and cognitive dysfunctions. Also, crocin can restore the deleterious effects of SD on mental and cognitive processes. In this study, we investigated the effect of REM SD on female rats' behaviors including depression- and anxiety-like behaviors, locomotion, pain perception, and obsessive-compulsive-like behavior, and also, the potential effect of crocin on REM SD effects...

INTRODUCTION: Bimetallic nanoparticles, specifically Zinc oxide (ZnO) and Silver (Ag), continue to much outperform other nanoparticles investigated for a variety of biological uses in the field of cancer therapy. This study introduces biosynthesis of bimetallic silver/zinc oxide nanocomposites (Ag@ZnO NCs) using the Crocus sativus extract and evaluates their anti-cancer properties against cervical cancer. METHODS: The process of generating bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs), namely Ag@ZnO NCs, through the utilization of Crocus sativus extract proved to be uncomplicated and eco-friendly...

The effect of Crocus sativus on several disorders has been discussed or even confirmed, but the efficacy of this herb on the female reproductive system has not been well presented. In this regard, this systematic review comprehensively discussed the efficacy of C. sativus and its main phytochemical compounds on the female reproductive system and its disorders for the first time. In this systematic review, scientific databases, including PubMed, Web of Sciences, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Scientific Information Database, were explored profoundly...

Safe and anti-inflammatory plant-based natural products present an increasing focus in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases such as osteoarthritis or inflammatory bowel diseases. Among them, saffron, a spice derived from the stigma of Crocus sativus, could have anti-inflammatory properties and would be therefore a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of such conditions. However, the anti-inflammatory molecular mechanisms of saffron in humans are still understudied and unclear. In this study, combining human serum metabolites and cell cultures, we evaluated the effect of circulating metabolites from the consumption of a patented saffron extract (Safr'InsideTM ) on the chondrocytes and colon epithelial cell responses to inflammatory stress...

Saffron ( Crocus sativus L.) is one of the most expensive spices in the world, boasting rich medicinal and edible value. However, the effective development of active natural substances in saffron is still limited. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive studies on the saffron stigma protein, and the main effect peptides have not been identified. In this study, the total protein composition of saffron stigmas was analyzed, and two main antioxidant peptides (DGGSDYLGK and VDPYFNK) were identified, which showed high antioxidant activity...

The cultivation of Crocus sativus L. to obtain the saffron spice generates a large amount of biowaste, constituted mainly by the flower's tepals. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant and dermo-protective effect of a complex methanolic extract of C. sativus tepals. The extract's major phenolic content was analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization, coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS). Then, the antioxidant in vitro activity of the extract was studied and related to their chemical composition...

Crocus sativus L. (C. sativus) has its stigma as the main valuable part used. With extremely low production and high prices, stigma is considered a scarce resource. As a result, its petals, considered as by-products, are often discarded, leading to significant waste. We developed a UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS method for qualitative analysis of stigmas and petals and a UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of 9 characteristic active compounds for the first time, and compared their biological activity in vitro...

BACKGROUND: Rahnella perminowiae S11P1 and Variovorax sp. S12S4 are two plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria that were previously isolated from the rhizosphere of Crocus sativus L. (saffron), and have demonstrated interesting PGP activities and promising results when used as inoculants in field trials. To further elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying their beneficial effects on plant growth, comprehensive genome mining of S11P1 and S12S4 and comparative genomic analysis with closely related strains were conducted...

Crocin-I, a valuable natural compound found in saffron (Crocus sativus L.), is the most abundant among the various crocin structures. Developing a cost-effective and scalable purification process to produce high-purity crocin-I is of great interest for future investigations into its biological properties and its potential applications in the treatment of neurological disorders. However purifying crocin-I through single-column preparative chromatography (batch) poses a yield-purity trade-off due to structural similarities among crocins, meaning that the choice of the collection window sacrifices either yield in benefit of higher purity or vice versa...

Irrigation of crops with domestic wastewater (DW) is a common practice in developing countries like India. However, domestic wastewater irrigation poses a risk of migration of toxic heavy metals to edible parts of crops, which requires serious measures to prevent their uptake. In this study, the effect of DW irrigation in comparison with Sarbal Lake water (SLW) and borewell water (BW) on soil characteristics and cultivated saffron ( Crocus sativus L.) was investigated. For this purpose, samples of water, soil, and saffron (corm, petal, and stigma) were collected from the suburban area of Pampore, Srinagar district, Jammu and Kashmir, India...

Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus L., which has been used for centuries as a coloring and flavoring agent, as well as a source of medicinal compounds. Saffron contains various bioactive constituents, such as crocin, crocetin, safranal, picrocrocin, and kaempferol, that have shown potential benefits for human health. Among them, crocin is the most abundant and characteristic constituent of saffron, responsible for its bright red color and antioxidant properties. One of the most promising applications of saffron and its constituents is in the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders, such as depression, anxiety, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other brain disorders...

UNLABELLED: Crocus sativus L., of the Iridaceae family, yields world's most prized spice, saffron. Saffron is well known for its distinctive aroma, odour and colour, which are imputed to the presence of some specific glycosylated apocarotenoids. Even though the main biosynthetic pathway and most of the enzymes leading to apocarotenoid production have been identified, the regulatory mechanisms that govern the developmental stage and tissue specific production of apocarotenoids in Crocus remain comparatively unravelled...