BACKGROUND Well-documented studies reported several pharmacological properties for crocin, the active compound of Crocus sativus, such as its antitumor, radical scavenging, antidepressant, and memory-enhancing effects. OBJECTIVES We aimed to evaluate the possible cytotoxic activity of crocin on B lymphocytes in human myeloma (U266 cell line) after 24- and 48-hour treatment. MATERIALS AND ME...

Background: Crocin is reported to have a wide range of biological activities such as cardiovascular protection. Recent epidemiologic studies have shown that exercise reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the general population. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of crocin and voluntary exercise on miR-126 and miR-210 expression levels and angiogenesis in t...

OBJECTIVES Gentamicin is used for the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections. However, gentamicin administration is limited because of nephrotoxicity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the protective effect of crocin against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty two male Wistar rats received gentamicin (100 mg/kg, IP), with or without croc...

background: obesity is pandemic worldwide and a strong risk factor for cardio-metabolic disorders. the few approved anti-obesity drugs have poor efficacy and safety profile. thus, there is an urgent need for new anti-obesity agents. according to the traditional medicine and a clinical trial, saffron may have anorexigenic and anti-obesity effects which need further investigation. objectives: eva...

OBJECTIVE(S) Crocin influences many biological functions including memory and learning. The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of crocin on learning and memory impairments in streptozotocine-induced diabetic rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal (IP) injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 45 mg/kg). Transfer latency (TL) paradigm in elevated plus-maze ...

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is one of the anti-neoplastic drugs. Despite its numerous clinical applications, it has devastating effects on the testicles and declines the sperm quality in treated patients. This study was aimed to investigate the protective effect of crocin in improving the toxicity induced by CP in reproductive system. In this study, 24 male adult mice (6 to 8 weeks) were randomly div...

Objectives: Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is one of the most dangerous hepatotoxic environmental pollutants thus this study aimed at investigating the potential preventive effect and mechanism of crocin against CCl4induced hepatotoxicity. Methods: Forty Male rats were allocated for two weeks treatment with; corn oil, CCl4 in corn oil, crocin (100 mg/ kg), or crocin plus CCl4. At time of euthanasi...

UNLABELLED This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of crocin, main component of Crocus sativus L. (Saffron) against subchronic diazinon (DZN) induced cardiotoxicity in rats. METHODS Rats were divided into 7 groups; control (corn oil, gavage), DZN (15 mg/kg/day, gavage,), crocin (12.5, 25 or 50 mg/kg/day, i.p) plus DZN, vitamin E (200 IU/kg, i.p, three times per week) plus DZN an...

OBJECTIVES Saffron is the stigma of Crocus sativus L., which has the potentials to play a role in the treatment of many diseases. Although many researches are now going on this precious spice, there are few data on saffron safety in human, especially in patients with chronic mental illnesses. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term safety and tolerability of both saffron and crocin (its maj...

Saffron and its constituents have been shown to decrease ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in kidney or brain tissues. In this study, the effects of saffron ethanolic extract and its constituents, crocin and safranal, were evaluated in skeletal muscle during I/R injury. Hind limb ischemia was induced using clamping the common femoral artery and vein. After 2 h ischemia, the clamp of the femoral...