| dna fragmentation and cell cycle arrest: a hallmark of apoptosis induced by crocin from kashmiri saffron in a human pancreatic cancer cell line. | apoptosis, a widely important mechanism that contributes to cell growth reduction, is reported to be induced by crocus sativus in different cancer types. the present study was designed to elucidate apoptosis induction by crocin, a main component of crocus sativus in a human pancreatic cancer cell line (bxpc-3). | 2010 | 21039035 |
| biochemical and molecular aspects of aluminium chloride-induced neurotoxicity in mice and the protective role of crocus sativus l. extraction and honey syrup. | aluminium has been proposed as an environmental factor that may affect several enzymes and other biomolecules related to neurotoxicity and alzheimer's disease (ad). the promising protective effect of aqueous saffron extract and honey syrup on neurotoxicity induced by aluminuim chloride (alcl(3)) may be derived from their own antioxidant properties. balb/c and c57bl/6 mice (35-40 g) were injected with alcl(3), 40 mg/kg/day for 45 days. each mice strain was divided into four groups: alcl(3) treate ... | 2010 | 21115102 |
| use of in vitro assays to assess the potential antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects of saffron (crocus sativus l.) in human lung cancer cell line. | saffron is harvested from the dried, dark red stigmas of crocus sativus flowers. it is used as a spice for flavoring and coloring food as a perfume. it is often used for treating several diseases. we investigated the potential of the ethanolic extract of saffron to induce antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects in cultured carcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells in comparison with non-malignant (l929) cells. | 2010 | 21120034 |
| crocus sativus l. (saffron) attenuates isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury via preserving cardiac functions and strengthening antioxidant defense system. | saffron (dried stigmas of crocus sativus l.), a naturally derived plant product, has long been used as a traditional ancient medicine against various human diseases. the aim of the series of experiments was to systematically determine whether saffron exerts cardioprotection in isoproterenol-induced myocardial damage. male wistar rats (150-175g) were divided into five groups: control, isoproterenol (iso) and three saffron (200, 400 and 800mg/kg) treatment groups. aqueous extract of saffron or veh ... | 2010 | 21144717 |
| suppression of pulmonary tumor promotion and induction of apoptosis by crocus sativus l. extraction. | crocus sativus l., commonly known as saffron, is the raw material for one of the most expensive spice in the world, and it has been used in folk medicine for centuries. we investigated the potential of the ethanolic extract of saffron to induce cytotoxic and apoptosis effects in carcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells (a549), a commonly used cell culture system for in vitro studies on lung cancer. the cells were cultured in dulbecco's modified eagle's medium with 10% fetal bovine serum ... | 2010 | 21153568 |
| effect of crocus sativus on gentamicin induced nephrotoxicity. | crocus sativus, known as saffron, is used in folk medicine for treatment of different types of diseases, and its anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging activities have been demonstrated. the present study evaluated gentamicin nephrotoxicity in saffron treated rats. male wistar rats (200-250 g) were treated with saffron (40 or 80 mg/k/d) for 10 days, or saffron (40 or 80 mg/ kg/d) for 10 days and gentamicin 80 mg/kg/d for five days, starting from day 6. at the end of treatment, blood sampl ... | 2010 | 21157635 |
| molecular cloning and characterisation of a pathogenesis-related protein cspr10 from crocus sativus. | plants have developed many mechanisms to protect themselves against most potential microbial pathogens and diseases. among these mechanisms, pathogenesis-related proteins are produced as part of the active defence to prevent attack. in this study, a full-length cdna encoding the cspr10 protein was identified in fresh saffron stigmas (crocus sativus). the deduced amino acid sequence from the nucleotide sequence of the coding region showed homology with pr10 proteins. the clone expressed as a prot ... | 2011 | 21309976 |
| saffron extract and trans-crocetin inhibit glutamatergic synaptic transmission in rat cortical brain slices. | saffron, the dried stigmata of crocus sativus l., is used in traditional medicine for a wide range of indications including cramps, asthma, and depression. to investigate the influence of hydro-ethanolic saffron extract (cse) and trans-crocetin on synaptic transmission, postsynaptic potentials (psps) were elicited by focal electrical stimulation and recorded using intracellular placed microelectrodes in pyramidal cells from rat cingulate cortex. cse (10-200 µg/ml) inhibited evoked psps as well a ... | 2011 | 21352900 |
| a new validated spe-hplc method for monitoring crocetin in human plasma--application after saffron tea consumption. | saffron (stigmas of crocus sativus l.) is a well-known spice with many attributed therapeutic uses throughout centuries. although studies have demonstrated that crocetin and crocins from saffron have various biological functions, issues concerning the route and way of saffron administration, the absorption and metabolism of saffron carotenoids in humans have not been answered yet. in the present study, an isocratic reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for the ... | 2011 | 21398065 |
| saffron (crocus sativus) aqueous extract and its constituent crocin reduces stress-induced anorexia in mice. | in the present study, the effects of an ethanol and aqueous extract of saffron crocus sativus and its constituents safranal and crocin on the stress-induced reduction in food intake, weight gain and anorexic time in mice were investigated. male albino mice (20-25 g) were irregularly exposed to a trial of electroshock stress for 7 days. then, the anorexic time as well as the animal's food intake and weight were recorded. in addition, blood samples were obtained on days 1 and 7 for corticosterone ... | 2011 | 21503997 |
| identification of a quinazoline alkaloid produced by penicillium vinaceum, an endophytic fungus from crocus sativus. | context: endophytic fungi are microorganisms living within the tissues of host plants, and have proven to be rich sources of biologically active secondary metabolites and therefore have attracted increasing attention in recent years. objective: to isolate and characterize bioactive constituents from the endophytic fungus cultures of crocus sativus linn. (iridaceae). materials and methods: endophytes were isolated from the corm of c. sativus. endophytic fungus cultures were subjected to repeated ... | 2011 | 21517707 |
| herbal medicine for depression, anxiety and insomnia: a review of psychopharmacology and clinical evidence. | research in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has increased markedly over the past decades. to date however, a comprehensive review of herbal antidepressant, anxiolytic and hypnotic psychopharmacology and applications in depression, anxiety and insomnia has been absent. a search of medline (pubmed), cinahl, psycinfo, and the cochrane library databases was conducted (up to february 21st 2011) on commonly used psychotropic herbal medicines. a review of the literature was conducted to ascertain ... | 2011 | 21601431 |
| protective effects of saffron extract and its active constituent crocin against oxidative stress and spatial learning and memory deficits induced by chronic stress in rats. | although it is well established that chronic stress impairs spatial learning and memory, few studies have investigated possible ways to prevent its deleterious effects. here, we investigated the effects of crocus sativus l., commonly known as saffron, and its active constituent crocin on learning and memory loss and the induction of oxidative stress in the hippocampus by chronic stress. rats were injected with saffron extract, crocin or vehicle over a period of 21days while being exposed to chro ... | 2011 | 21616066 |
| the role of phytochemicals in the treatment and prevention of dementia. | dementia pathologies such as alzheimer's disease (ad) are reaching epidemic proportions, yet they are not successfully managed by effective symptomatic treatments. only five drugs have been developed to alleviate cognitive symptoms, and more effective and safe treatments are needed for both the cognitive symptoms and behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (bpsd). as two of these licensed drugs (cholinesterase inhibitors [cheis]) are naturally derived (galantamine and rivastigmine), t ... | 2011 | 21639405 |
| effects of saffron (crocus sativus l.) and its active constituent, crocin, on recognition and spatial memory after chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in rats. | cerebral ischemia produces brain damage and related behavioral deficits such as memory. in this study, a rat model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion was used to determine whether saffron extract and crocin, which are potent antioxidants and free radical scavengers, can reduce vascular cognitive impairment. male adult wistar rats were administered different doses of an aqueous solution of crocin or hydroalcohol extract of saffron intraperitoneally (i.p.) 5?days after permanent occlusion of the co ... | 2011 | 21774008 |
| crocin promotes non-rapid eye movement sleep in mice. | crocus sativus l. (saffron) has been traditionally used for the treatment of insomnia and other diseases of the nervous systems. two carotenoid pigments, crocin and crocetin, are the major components responsible for the various pharmacological activities of c. sativus l. in this study, we examined the sleep-promoting activity of crocin and crocetin by monitoring the locomotor activity and electroencephalogram after administration of these components to mice. crocin (30 and 100 mg/kg) increased t ... | 2011 | 22038919 |
| frequency-dependent electrophysiological remodeling of the av node by hydroalcohol extract of crocus sativus l. (saffron) during experimental atrial fibrillation: the role of endogenous nitric oxide. | the study assessed the hydroalcohol extract effects of crocus sativus l. (saffron) on (i) the basic and rate-dependent electrophysiological properties of the av node, (ii) remodeling of the av node during experimental atrial fibrillation (af) and (iii) the role of nitric oxide (no) in the effects of saffron on the av node. stimulation protocols in isolated av node were used to quantify av nodal recovery, facilitation and fatigue in four groups of rabbits (n = 8-16 per group). in addition, the no ... | 2011 | 22072550 |
| The Effect of Crocus sativus Extract on Human Lymphocytes' Cytokines and T Helper 2/T Helper 1 Balance. | Abstract The effects of macerated extracts of Crocus sativus (Family Iridaceae) (saffron) on cell viability and cytokine release of stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and nonstimulated cells were examined. The effects of three concentrations of macerated extract, dexamethasone, and saline on cell viability and production of cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, and interferon-? (IFN-?) were evaluated. In cells stimulated with PHA, different conc ... | 2011 | 22145772 |
| akt/gsk-3β/enos phosphorylation arbitrates safranal-induced myocardial protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. | purpose: traditional medicine has been appropriately identified as the most productive soil for the cultivation and harvesting of modern medicines. herein, we postulate that safranal, an active constituent of crocus sativus, owing to its strong antioxidant and anti-apoptotic potential, could be a valuable molecule in alleviating myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (ir) injury. methods: to evaluate this hypothesis, sa ... | 2011 | 21983875 |
| neuroprotective effect of crocin on acrylamide-induced cytotoxicity in pc12 cells. | acrylamide (acr) is a potent neurotoxic in human and animal models. in this study, the effect of crocin, main constituent of crocus sativus l. (saffron) on acr-induced cytotoxicity was evaluated using pc12 cells as a suitable in vitro model. the exposure of pc12 cells to acr reduced cell viability, increased dna fragmented cells and phosphatidylserine exposure, and elevated bax/bcl-2 ratio. results showed that acr increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ros) in cells and ros played an i ... | 2011 | 21901509 |
| saffron (crocus sativus) ethanolic extract and its constituent, safranal, inhibits morphine-induced place preference in mice. | the effects of saffron ethanolic extract and its constituent, safranal, on the acquisition and expression of morphine-induced place preference (cpp) in male swiss webster mice (20-25 g) were investigated in the present study. an unbiased place conditioning method was applied for assessment of morphine reward properties. the saffron extract and safranal were administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) during (acquisition) or after induction (expression) of morphine cpp. in a pilot study, the extract an ... | 2011 | 22514895 |
| hplc/pda/esi-ms evaluation of saffron (crocus sativus l.) adulteration. | the present study evaluated the reliability of the iso/ts 3632-2 uv-vis spectrometric method for saffron classification, making experiments on saffron samples to which were added increasing concentrations of common saffron spice adulterants (safflower, marigold and turmeric). the results showed that the iso/ts 3632-2 method is not able to detect addition of up to 10-20%, w/w, of saffron adulterants. for additions from 20 to 50%, w/w, of the three adulterants, saffron was classified in a wrong ca ... | 2011 | 22312727 |
| effects of saffron (crocus sativus l.) aqueous extract on in vitro maturation, fertilization and embryo development of mouse oocytes. | lower pregnancy rates of in vitro matured oocytes compared to those of in vivo stimulated cycles indicate that optimization of in vitro maturation (ivm) remains a challenge. reduced developmental competence of in vitro matured oocytes shows that current culture systems for oocyte maturation do not adequately support nuclear and/or cytoplasmic maturation. therefore this study evaluates the effects of different concentrations of saffron (crocus sativus l.) aqueous extract (sae), as an antioxidant ... | 2011 | 23507933 |
| evaluation of plant-mediated silver nanoparticles synthesis and its application in postharvest physiology of cut flowers. | today the use of silver nanoparticles is becoming increasingly widespread due to their wide applications as antimicrobial agent. green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (snps) using the petal extract of saffron (crocus sativus) as a reducing agent from 5 mm agno3 has been investigated in this work. diverse petal extracts quantities and reaction times were used for the synthesis of snps. the resulting snps were characterized by means of uv-vis, xrd and ftir techniques. snps were synthesized rapid ... | 2014 | 25049454 |
| challenges of climate change: omics-based biology of saffron plants and organic agricultural biotechnology for sustainable saffron production. | kashmir valley is a major saffron (crocus sativus kashmirianus) growing area of the world, second only to iran in terms of production. in kashmir, saffron is grown on uplands (termed in the local language as "karewas"), which are lacustrine deposits located at an altitude of 1585 to 1677 m above mean sea level (amsl), under temperate climatic conditions. kashmir, despite being one of the oldest historical saffron-producing areas, faces a rapid decline of saffron industry. among many other factor ... | 2014 | 25072266 |
| diversity of culturable bacterial endophytes of saffron in kashmir, india. | saffron (crocus sativus) is a medicinally important plant. the kashmir valley (j&k, india) emblematizes one of the major and quality saffron producing areas in the world. nonetheless, the area has been experiencing a declining trend in the production of saffron during the last decade. poor disease management is one of the major reasons for declining saffron production in the area. endophytes are known to offer control against many diseases of host plant. during the present study, culturable bact ... | 2015 | 26558164 |
| identifying a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4a gene and its efficient agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation in bixa orellana l. | carotenoids are metabolized to apocarotenoids through the pathway catalysed by carotenoid cleavage oxygenases (ccos). the apocarotenoids are economically important as it is known to have therapeutic as well as industrial applications. for instance, bixin from bixa orellana and crocin from crocus sativus are commercially used as a food colourant and cosmetics since prehistoric time. in our present study, ccd4a gene has been identified and isolated from leaves of b. orellana for the first time and ... | 2016 | 26922728 |
| ftir spectroscopic evaluation of changes in the cellular biochemical composition of the phytopathogenic fungus alternaria alternata induced by extracts of some greek medicinal and aromatic plants. | in this study, the biological activity of aquatic extracts of selected greek medicinal and aromatic plants to the phytopathogenic fungus alternaria alternata was investigated. lamiaceae species (hyssopus officinalis l., melissa officinalis l., origanum dictamnus l., origanum vulgare l. and salvia officinalis l.) were found to enhance significantly the mycelium growth whereas crocus sativus appears to inhibit it slightly. m. officinalis and s. officinalis caused the highest stimulation in myceliu ... | 2014 | 24657421 |
| effect of polymer/nanosilver composite packaging on long-term microbiological status of iranian saffron (crocus sativus l.). | crocus sativus l. (saffron) is a valuable plant which is native to iran. saffron is the dried stigmata of the flowering part of the plant that is usually contaminated with different bacteria and fungi through production process. antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles are well recognized. to survey the effects of nanosilver packaging on microbiological status of spiked, saffron samples over a six month period were chosen. saffron samples from five regions of khorasan province were purch ... | 2016 | 27081358 |
| plant growth promoting bacteria from crocus sativus rhizosphere. | present study deals with the isolation of rhizobacteria and selection of plant growth promoting bacteria from crocus sativus (saffron) rhizosphere during its flowering period (october-november). bacterial load was compared between rhizosphere and bulk soil by counting cfu/gm of roots and soil respectively, and was found to be ~40 times more in rhizosphere. in total 100 bacterial isolates were selected randomly from rhizosphere and bulk soil (50 each) and screened for in-vitro and in vivo plant g ... | 2013 | 23749248 |
| draft genome sequence of plant growth-promoting bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain w2 associated with crocus sativus (saffron). | bacillus sp. strain w2 is a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium isolated from saffron fields of kashmir, india. here, we report the draft genome sequence (3.9 mb) of bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain w2 having 65 contigs (3, 997, 511 bp), 4,163 coding sequences, and an average 46.45% gc content. despite the 99% identity of the 16s rrna gene with that of bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum fzb42, the genome comparison revealed that only 48.7% of the w2 genome has homology with that of f ... | 2014 | 25212614 |
| characterization of a glucosyltransferase enzyme involved in the formation of kaempferol and quercetin sophorosides in crocus sativus. | ugt707b1 is a new glucosyltransferase isolated from saffron (crocus sativus) that localizes to the cytoplasm and the nucleus of stigma and tepal cells. ugt707b1 transcripts were detected in the stigma tissue of all the crocus species analyzed, but expression analysis of ugt707b1 in tepals revealed its absence in certain species. the analysis of the glucosylated flavonoids present in crocus tepals reveals the presence of two major flavonoid compounds in saffron: kaempferol-3-o-β-d-glucopyranosyl- ... | 2012 | 22649274 |
| new target carotenoids for ccd4 enzymes are revealed with the characterization of a novel stress-induced carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase gene from crocus sativus. | apocarotenoid compounds play diverse communication functions in plants, some of them being as hormones, pigments and volatiles. apocarotenoids are the result of enzymatic cleavage of carotenoids catalyzed by carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (ccd). the ccd4 family is the largest family of plant ccds, only present in flowering plants, suggesting a functional diversification associated to the adaptation for specific physiological capacities unique to them. in saffron, two ccd4 genes have been previo ... | 2014 | 25204497 |
| novel carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase catalyzes the first dedicated step in saffron crocin biosynthesis. | crocus sativus stigmas are the source of the saffron spice and accumulate the apocarotenoids crocetin, crocins, picrocrocin, and safranal, responsible for its color, taste, and aroma. through deep transcriptome sequencing, we identified a novel dioxygenase, carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 2 (ccd2), expressed early during stigma development and closely related to, but distinct from, the ccd1 dioxygenase family. ccd2 is the only identified member of a novel ccd clade, presents the structural featu ... | 2014 | 25097262 |
| bioactive compounds of crocus sativus l. and their semi-synthetic derivatives as promising anti-helicobacter pylori, anti-malarial and anti-leishmanial agents. | crocus sativus l. is known in herbal medicine for the various pharmacological effects of its components, but no data are found in literature about its biological properties toward helicobacter pylori, plasmodium spp. and leishmania spp. in this work, the potential anti-bacterial and anti-parasitic effects of crocin and safranal, two important bioactive components in c. sativus, were explored, and also some semi-synthetic derivatives of safranal were tested in order to establish which modificatio ... | 2015 | 25766747 |
| in vitro activity and cytotoxicity of crocus sativus extract against leihmania major (mrho/ir/75/er). | leishmaniasis is a complex protozoan disease comprising a wide range of clinical manifestations that is usually divided into visceral leishmaniasis, cutaneous leishmaniasis, and muco-cutaneous leishmaniasis depending on leishmania parasite species and host's immune system responses. most of the drugs produced for the treatment of leishmaniasis, from the first used to the most recently accepted, are toxic, resistance issues and poorly tolerated. the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect ... | 2014 | 25159304 |
| heterologous biosynthesis and manipulation of crocetin in saccharomyces cerevisiae. | due to excellent performance in antitumor, antioxidation, antihypertension, antiatherosclerotic and antidepressant activities, crocetin, naturally exists in crocus sativus l., has great potential applications in medical and food fields. microbial production of crocetin has received increasing concern in recent years. however, only a patent from evova inc. and a report from lou et al. have illustrated the feasibility of microbial biosynthesis of crocetin, but there was no specific titer data repo ... | 2017 | 28356104 |
| transcriptome wide identification, phylogenetic analysis, and expression profiling of zinc-finger transcription factors from crocus sativus l. | crocus sativus belongs to iridaceae family and is the only plant species which produces apocarotenoids like crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal in significant quantities. besides their organoleptic properties, crocus apocarotenoids have been found to possess remarkable pharmacological potential. although apocarotenoid biosynthetic pathway has been worked out to a great degree, but the mechanism that regulates the tissue and developmental stage-specific production of crocus apocarotenoids is not kn ... | 2017 | 28247040 |
| molecular mechanism of crocin induced caspase mediated mcf-7 cell death: in vivo toxicity profiling and ex vivo macrophage activation. | crocus sativus and its major constituent crocin are well established to have anti-cancer properties in breast cancer cells (mcf-7). however the role of c. sativus extract (cse) and crocin on caspase signaling mediated mcf-7 cell death at molecular level is remains unclear. in this study, we tried to unravel role of cse and crocin on caspase mediated mcf-7 cells death and their in vivo preclinical toxicity profiling and immune stimulatory effect. | 2016 | 27039797 |
| plant-based medicines for anxiety disorders, part 1: a review of preclinical studies. | research in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has revealed a variety of promising medicines that may provide benefit in the treatment of general anxiety and specific anxiety disorders. however, a comprehensive review of plant-based anxiolytics has been absent to date. this article (part 1) reviews herbal medicines for which only preclinical investigations for anxiolytic activity have been performed. in part 2, we review herbal medicines for which there have been clinical investigations for a ... | 2013 | 23436255 |
| adverse effects of herbal medicines: an overview of systematic reviews. | this overview of systematic reviews (srs) aims to evaluate critically the evidence regarding the adverse effects of herbal medicines (hms). five electronic databases were searched to identify all relevant srs, with 50 srs of 50 different hms meeting our inclusion criteria. most had only minor weaknesses in methods. serious adverse effects were noted only for four hms: herbae pulvis standardisatus, larrea tridentate, piper methysticum and cassia senna. the most severe adverse effects were liver o ... | 2013 | 23472485 |
| spices for prevention and treatment of cancers. | spices have been widely used as food flavorings and folk medicines for thousands of years. numerous studies have documented the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of spices, which might be related to prevention and treatment of several cancers, including lung, liver, breast, stomach, colorectum, cervix, and prostate cancers. several spices are potential sources for prevention and treatment of cancers, such as curcuma longa (tumeric), nigella sativa (black cumin), zingibe ... | 2016 | 27529277 |
| herbal remedies and functional foods used by cancer patients attending specialty oncology clinics in trinidad. | cancer is a major disease worldwide, and many patients use complementary and alternative treatments. the purpose of this study was to identify the herbal remedies and functional foods used as complementary medicine by prostate, breast and colorectal cancer patients at speciality care facilities in trinidad. we also sought to determine how patients rated the efficacy of these modalities compared with conventional treatment. | 2016 | 27769229 |
| is there nothing new under the sun? the influence of herbals and pharmacopoeias on ethnobotanical traditions in albacete (spain). | this paper has two overarching aims: (1) presenting the results of studying the albacete tariff of medicines of 1526 and (2) broadly analyzing the origin and influences of medicinal traditional knowledge in the region of albacete, spain. we use historical and modern literature that may have influenced this knowledge. our primary goal was to determine the ingredients used in the pharmacy in the 16th century ce in albacete through the analysis of the tariff, and our secondary goal was to investiga ... | 2017 | 27894973 |
| review of scientific evidence of medicinal convoy plants in traditional persian medicine. | one concept used in traditional persian medicine (tpm) for multidrug therapy is that of the convoy drug (mobadregh). according to tpm texts, convoy drugs are substances (or drugs), which facilitate the access of drugs or foods to the whole body or to specific organs. this study reviewed some convoy drugs presented in tpm, their biological effects, and their probable interactions with main drugs, considering the increased absorption through inhibition of p-glycoprotein (p-gp) efflux function, bio ... | 2017 | 27041871 |
| ethnopharmacological approach to the herbal medicines of the "antidotes" in nikolaos myrepsos׳ dynameron. | this paper focuses on the plants quoted in the recipes of the first chapter entitled "about the antidotes" belonging to the first and largest section "element alpha" of nikolaos myrepsos׳ dynameron, a medieval medical manuscript. nikolaos myrepsos was a byzantine physician at the court of john iii doukas vatatzes at nicaea (13th century). he wrote in greek a rich collection of 2667 recipes, the richest number known in late byzantine era, conventionally known as dynameron and divided into 24 sect ... | 2015 | 25596353 |
| hepatoprotective herbs, avicenna viewpoint. | liver injury or dysfunction is considered as a serious health problem. the available synthetic drugs to treat liver disorders are expensive and cause further damage. hence, hepatoprotective effects of some herbal drugs have been investigated, and one of the methods to choose herbs in order to study their biological effects is to search in ancient medical texts. avicenna who is known as the prince of physicians had collected and classified greek, persian and islamic medicine in the best possible ... | 2014 | 24719702 |
| molecular modeling and dynamic simulation of arabidopsis thaliana carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase gene: a comparison with bixa orellana and crocus sativus. | carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (ccd) gene, ubiquitously found in numerous types of plants, are eminent in synthesizing the various volatile compounds (β-ionone, c13 -norisoprenoid, geranylacetone) known as apocarotenoids. these apocarotenoids have various biological functions such as volatile signals, allelopathic interaction and plant defense. in arabidopsis genome sequence, four potential ccd genes have been identified namely ccd1, ccd4, ccd7, and ccd8. these four genes give rise to diverse b ... | 2017 | 28145590 |
| heterotopic expression of b-class floral homeotic genes pistillata/globosa supports a modified model for crocus (crocus sativus l.) flower formation. | for uncovering and understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling flower development in cultivated crocus sativus and particularly the transformation of sepals in outer whorl (whorl 1) tepals, we have cloned and characterized the expression of a family of five pistillata/globosa-like (pi/glo-like) mads-box genes expressed in the c. sativus flower. the deduced amino acid sequences of the coded proteins indicated high homology with members of the mads-box family of transcription factors, and p ... | 2007 | 17364823 |
| quality control of saffron (crocus sativus l.): development of scar markers for the detection of plant adulterants used as bulking agents. | a method based on sequence-characterized amplified regions (scars) was developed from random amplified polymorphic dna markers (rapds) specific for arnica montana l., bixa orellana l., calendula officinalis l., carthamus tinctorius l., crocus vernus l. (hill), curcuma longa l., and hemerocallis sp. to detect these common bulking agents in commercial saffron (crocus sativus). the method enabled the unequivocal detection of low amounts (up to 1%) of each adulterant, allowing the preemptive rejecti ... | 2012 | 22989071 |
| natural products of relevance in the prevention and supportive treatment of depression. | the use of herbs or their parts: leaves, roots, rhizomes, flowers, seeds, natural strains, as well as extracts or isolated metabolites is becoming more and more popular. natural remedies not only act prophylactically, but also help to alleviate symptoms of many diseases and enhance the overall functioning of the internal organs. many raw materials of natural origin plays a role in treatment of health problems, and also in case of serious diseases such as depression. depression (affective disorde ... | 2016 | 26276913 |
| molecular mechanisms that underlie the sexual stimulant actions of avicennia marina (forssk.) vierh. and crocus sativus l. | the effects of extracts and sub-fractions of avicennia marina, crocus sativus and sildenafil on the sexual behavior of male rats and their effects on the intracavernosal pressure (i.cv), intracavernosal cyclic gmp and dihydrotestosterone plasma level were examined. the sexual behavior was followed for four hours using infra-red video cameras to quantify the effects on various male sexual behaviors. the results revealed that the active sub-fraction in case of a. marina was the hexane fraction of ... | 2015 | 25553685 |
| anti-aging potential of phytoextract loaded-pharmaceutical creams for human skin cell longetivity. | the exposure to ultraviolet radiations (uvr) is the key source of skin sunburn; it may produce harmful entities, reactive oxygen species (ros), leading to aging. the skin can be treated and protected from the injurious effects of ros by using various pharmaceutical formulations, such as cream. cream can be loaded with antioxidants to quench ros leading to photo-protective effects. moreover, modern medicines depend on ethnobotanicals for protection or treatment of human diseases. this review arti ... | 2015 | 26448818 |
| protective effect of crocetin on bovine spermatozoa against oxidative stress during in vitro fertilization. | oxidative stress is one of the major factors that contribute to poor semen quality and low rates of in vitro fertilization. crocetin, a main constituent of saffron (crocus sativus l.) possesses potent antioxidant activity, by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ros) and/or enhancing the activity of intracellular antioxidant enzymes. the aim of this study was to investigate, for the first time, the effect of crocetin on the quality characteristics of bull spermatozoa and fertilization rate. for t ... | 2016 | 27575445 |
| antioxidant effect of crocin on bovine sperm quality and in vitro fertilization. | reactive oxygen species (ros) production above critical levels affects the genetic and functional integrity of spermatozoa by causing oxidative stress. spermatozoa are susceptible to oxidative stress in terms of motility and fertilization capacity. crocin (crocetin di-gentiobiose ester), a main constituent of crocus sativus l. (saffron), is known for its antioxidant activity by scavenging ros, especially superoxide anion. the aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of crocin on the qu ... | 2015 | 26253435 |
| genetic and epigenetic approaches for the possible detection of adulteration and auto-adulteration in saffron (crocus sativus l.) spice. | saffron (crocus sativus l.) is very expensive and, because of this, often subject to adulteration. modern genetic fingerprinting techniques are an alternative low cost technology to the existing chemical techniques, which are used to control the purity of food products. buddleja officinalis maxim, gardenia jasminoides ellis, curcuma longa l., carthamus tinctorius l. and calendula officinalis l. are among the most frequently-used adulterants in saffron spice. three commercial kits were compared c ... | 2016 | 26978342 |
| barcoding melting curve analysis for rapid, sensitive, and discriminating authentication of saffron (crocus sativus l.) from its adulterants. | saffron (crocus sativus l.) is one of the most important and expensive medicinal spice products in the world. because of its high market value and premium price, saffron is often adulterated through the incorporation of other materials, such as carthamus tinctorius l. and calendula officinalis l. flowers, hemerocallis l. petals, daucus carota l. fleshy root, curcuma longa l. rhizomes, zea may l., and nelumbo nucifera gaertn. stigmas. to develop a straightforward, nonsequencing method for rapid, ... | 2014 | 25548775 |
| a systematic review of anti-obesity medicinal plants - an update. | obesity is the most prevalent health problem affecting all age groups, and leads to many complications in the form of chronic heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2 and stroke. a systematic review about safety and efficacy of herbal medicines in the management of obesity in human was carried out by searching bibliographic data bases such as, pubmed, scopus, google scholar, web of science, and iranmedex, for studies reported between 30th december 2008 to 23rd april 2012 on human or animals, inve ... | 2013 | 23777875 |
| novel quantitative real-time pcr approach to determine safflower (carthamus tinctorius) adulteration in saffron (crocus sativus). | this work intended to develop dna-based methods to detect and quantify safflower as an adulterant in saffron. species-specific pcr and real-time pcr with evagreen dye targeting the its region of carthamus tinctorius l. (safflower) were successfully proposed. the assays allowed absolute and relative sensitivities of 2pg of safflower dna (∼1.4 dna copies) and 0.1% of safflower in saffron (crocus sativus l.), respectively. a normalised real-time pcr approach was also proposed in the range of 0.1-20 ... | 2017 | 28372231 |
| insight of saffron proteome by gel-electrophoresis. | saffron is a spice comprised of the dried stigmas and styles of crocus sativus l. flowers and, since it is very expensive, it is frequently adulterated. so far, proteomic tools have never been applied to characterize the proteome of saffron or identify possible cases of fraud. in this study, 1d-gel electrophoresis was carried out to characterize the protein profile of (i) fresh stigmas and styles of the plant; (ii) dried stigmas and styles from different geographical origins (spanish, italian, g ... | 2016 | 26840283 |
| laūq: a sustained-release dosage form for respiratory disorders in traditional persian medicine. | laūq is a pharmaceutical dosage form that had been mainly used for the treatment of various respiratory disorders in traditional persian medicine. it is important from 2 aspects: a dosage form with efficient and optimum delivery of drugs to the respiratory tract and biological effects of its ingredients. natural medicine in laūq has been demonstrated to act in respiratory disorders by their antitussive, antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, spasmolytic, and antibacterial activities. some ... | 2016 | 26008751 |
| the potential effect of the extract of crocus sativus and safranal on the total and differential white blood cells of ovalbumin-sensitized guinea pigs. | previous studies have indicated relaxant, inhibitory effect on histamine (h1) and muscarinic receptors, and stimulatory effect on β-drenoceptor of crocus sativus on guinea pig tracheal chains. in the present study, the effect of the extract of c. sativus and one of its constituents, safranal, on the inflammatory changes of sensitized guinea pigs was examined. eight groups of sensitized guinea pigs to ovalbumin were studied. one group was given drinking water alone (group s), while other 7 groups ... | 2012 | 23248676 |
| the effect of the extract of crocus sativus and its constituent safranal, on lung pathology and lung inflammation of ovalbumin sensitized guinea-pigs. | different pharmacological effects of crocus sativus have been demonstrated on guinea pig tracheal chains in previous studies. in the present study, the prophylactic effect of the extract of c. sativus and its constituent, safranal on lung pathology and total and differential white blood cells (wbc) of sensitized guinea pigs was examined. guinea pigs were sensitized with injection and inhalation of ovalbumin (oa). one group of sensitized guinea pigs were given drinking water alone (group s) and t ... | 2012 | 22743244 |
| ethnobotanical treatment strategies against alzheimer's disease. | ethnobotany encompasses the cultural uses of plants by humans, including their uses as medicines (ethnopharmacology). the reputed medicinal properties of plants have been documented for centuries in different cultures, and there are many plant species that have been traditionally used for memory disorders, which are now being explored to determine any scientific basis for their reputed uses. plants have been a valuable source of drugs, and phytochemicals have also provided templates to develop s ... | 2012 | 22329652 |
| molecular cloning and expression of cro s 1: an occupational allergen from saffron pollen (crocus sativus). | the cultivation of saffron is expanding through the southeast of iran, and allergy to saffron pollen occurs in workers involved in processing this plant. we aimed to clone, sequence and express a major allergen involved in saffron pollen allergy, and to compare the recombinant with the natural allergen. | 2012 | 26989701 |
| an evidence-based approach to medicinal plants for the treatment of sperm abnormalities in traditional persian medicine. | infertility is defined as inability of a sexually active couple to conceive after 1 year of regular intercourse without contraception. male factors account for 20%-50% of cases of infertility. the aim of this study was to review medicinal plants that proposed to improve sperm abnormalities in traditional persian medicine. for this purpose, pubmed, scopus, googlescholar and cochrane library were explored for medicinal plants used in traditional persian medicine for sperm abnormalities to obtain s ... | 2016 | 27681644 |
| a representative survey of knowledge, use, perceived benefits, barriers, and risks of select herbal drugs among female students in gorgan city (northeast iran). | we conducted a representative survey among young women to determine knowledge, use, and perceptions on barriers, benefits, and risks related to selected herbal drugs (crocus sativus, borago officinalis, citrus aurantium, thymus vulgaris, matricaria chamomilla, lavandula angustifolia, valeriana officinalis, hypericum perforatum, and panax ginseng) in gorgan by using an internally validated questionnaire. there were 344 participants (mean age 16.3 years; 16.2% in science course). saffron had most ... | 2016 | 26888451 |
| protective effect of crocus sativus l. (saffron) extract on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. | ischemia/reperfusion (i/r) injury of spinal cord is leading to the paraplegia observed. in this study, we investigated the protective effect of the saffron extract on spinal cord i/r injury. | 2017 | 28392907 |
| functional genomics of apocarotenoids in saffron: insights from chemistry, molecular biology and therapeutic applications. | saffron is considered to be the costliest spice of the world. it has been regarded as highly valued medicinal plant in ayurveda to treat various ailments. over the past few years, considerable interest has developed in saffron because of its anticancer, antimutagenic, antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. saffron's colour, bitter taste and aroma are its three main and peculiar characteristics, which are conferred by three chemicals namely: crocin, picrocrocin and safranal, respectively. t ... | 2017 | 28369196 |
| is really crocus sativus as effective as citalopram in the treatment of depression? | | 2017 | 28351080 |
| intake of saffron reduces γ-radiation-induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice. | saffron (saf), the dried stigmas of crocus sativus, is commonly used for flavoring and coloring food. studies on bioactivity of saf have demonstrated its in vivo antioxidant activity. the aim of our study was to assess the impact of saf intake on γ-radiation (rad) induced (a) chromosomal damage, (b) oxidative stress in liver and brain, and (c) histopathological effects in the intestinal cells and male germ cells in mice. freeze-dried aqueous extract of saf was used for the experiments. our preli ... | 2017 | 28298158 |
| toxicology effects of saffron and its constituents: a review. | saffron (crocus sativus l.) has been considered as a medicinal plant since ancient times and also widely used as food additive for its color, taste and odor. the pharmacological properties of saffron and its main constituents, crocin and safranal have been evaluated using different in vivo and in vitro models. additionally, other lines of studies have found toxicological effects of saffron. however, a comprehensive review that covers all aspects of its toxicity has not been published yet. the cu ... | 2017 | 28293386 |
| short communication: investigating the effect of saffron (crocus sativus l.) nano-sizing on its colour extraction efficiency: a preliminary study. | this study investigated the effect of saffron nano-sizing on its the colour extraction yield. the whole stigma was ball-milled at three different times (10, 20 and 100 h), immediately or with a 24 h delay was submitted to absorption test, and then the colour extraction efficiency was determined. when stigma was milled for 100 h, its particle size was reduced to less than 20 nm, as shown by sem and tem images, and its extraction efficiency was considerably increased by 19.8% as compared with the ... | 2017 | 28278645 |
| in silico identification of mirnas and their target genes and analysis of gene co-expression network in saffron (crocus sativus l.) stigma. | as an aromatic and colorful plant of substantive taste, saffron (crocus sativus l.) owes such properties of matter to growing class of the secondary metabolites derived from the carotenoids, apocarotenoids. regarding the critical role of micrornas in secondary metabolic synthesis and the limited number of identified mirnas in c. sativus, on the other hand, one may see the point how the characterization of mirnas along with the corresponding target genes in c. sativus might expand our perspective ... | 2016 | 28261627 |
| crocins, the active constituents of crocus sativus l., counteracted apomorphine-induced performance deficits in the novel object recognition task, but not novel object location task, in rats. | schizophrenia is a chronic mental disease that affects nearly 1% of the population worldwide. several lines of evidence suggest that the dopaminergic (daergic) system might be compromised in schizophrenia. specifically, the mixed dopamine (da) d1/d2 receptor agonist apomorphine induces schizophrenia-like symptoms in rodents, including disruption of memory abilities. crocins are among the active components of saffron (dried stigmas of crocus sativus l. plant) and their implication in cognition is ... | 2017 | 28216334 |
| medicinal plants targeting cardiovascular diseases in view of avicenna. | cardiovascular disease (cvd) is a spectrum of diseases involving the heart and blood vessels, and the first cause of mortality worldwide. medicinal plants have been used for thousands of years to treat cvd. in traditional persian medicine (tpm), there is a special focus on heart diseases. avicenna, a persian physician of the eleventh century compiled a book devoted to this field named "the treatise on cardiac drugs" which is a compendium of tpm knowledge on cvd. avicenna mentioned 50 cardiovascul ... | 2017 | 28215156 |
| functional characterization of csbglu12, a β-glucosidase from crocus sativus, provides insights into its role in abiotic stress through accumulation of antioxidant flavonols. | glycosylation and deglycosylation are impressive mechanisms that allow plants to regulate the biological activity of an array of secondary metabolites. although glycosylation improves solubility and renders the metabolites suitable for transport and sequestration, deglycosylation activates them to carry out biological functions. herein, we report the functional characterization of csbglu12, a β-glucosidase from crocus sativus. csbglu12 has a characteristic glucoside hydrolase 1 family (α/β)8 tri ... | 2017 | 28154174 |
| efficacy of crocin and safranal as protective agents against genotoxic stress induced by gamma radiation, urethane and procarbazine in mice. | crocin (cro) and safranal (saf) are bioactive constituents of saffron (dried stigma of crocus sativus flower), an expensive spice with medicinal properties. aqueous extract of saffron is known for its antigenotoxic effect against environmental genotoxins/carcinogens. however, there is need to identify saffron constituents responsible for this antigenotoxic effect. the aim of our investigation was to ascertain the role of cro and saf as inhibitors of in vivo genotoxic stress. for this purpose, sw ... | 2017 | 28111973 |
| a perspective on crocus sativus l. (saffron) constituent crocin: a potent water-soluble antioxidant and potential therapy for alzheimer's disease. | alzheimer's disease (ad) is the most common form of dementia, in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline. several factors are thought to play roles in the development and course of ad. existing medical therapies only modestly alleviate and delay cognitive symptoms. current research has been focused on developing antibodies to remove the aggregates of amyloid-β (aβ) and tau protein. this approach has achieved removal of aβ; however, no cognitive improvement in ad p ... | 2017 | 28098452 |
| sailuotong prevents hydrogen peroxide (h₂o₂)-induced injury in ea.hy926 cells. | sailuotong (slt) is a standardised three-herb formulation consisting of panax ginseng, ginkgo biloba, and crocus sativus designed for the management of vascular dementia. while the latest clinical trials have demonstrated beneficial effects of slt in vascular dementia, the underlying cellular mechanisms have not been fully explored. the aim of this study was to assess the ability and mechanisms of slt to act against hydrogen peroxide (h₂o₂)-induced oxidative damage in cultured human vascular end ... | 2017 | 28067784 |
| special issue "saffron (crocus sativus, l.): omics and other techniques in authenticity, quality, and bioactivity studies". | n/a. | 2016 | 28025553 |
| the effect of safranal on th1/th2 cytokine balance. | several biological and medical benefits of saffron, crocus sativus (iridaceae), have been demonstrated. however, mechanisms of actions for purified constituents are greatly unknown. | 2016 | 27999238 |
| nanostructured lipid dispersions for topical administration of crocin, a potent antioxidant from saffron (crocus sativus l.). | crocin, a potent antioxidant obtained from saffron, shows anticancer activity in in vivo models. unfortunately unfavorable physicochemical features compromise its use in topical therapy. the present study describes the preparation and characterization of nanostructured lipid dispersions as drug delivery systems for topical administration of crocin and the evaluation of antioxidant and antiproliferative effects of crocin once encapsulated into nanostructured lipid dispersions. nanostructured lipi ... | 2017 | 27987758 |
| geographical characterization by mae-hplc and nir methodologies and carbonic anhydrase inhibition of saffron components. | a microwave-assisted extraction method was optimised for the recovery of bioactive compounds from crocus sativus l. stigmas with the use of water/ethanol mixture. hplc-dad was employed to evaluate the extraction parameters, in particular, solvent type and volume, and the duration of the procedure. microwave-assisted extraction enhanced the recovery of the active principles, limiting extraction time and solvent waste. moreover, nir experiments were performed in order to compare spectra in pseudo- ... | 2017 | 27979284 |
| comparative evaluation of an iso 3632 method and an hplc-dad method for safranal quantity determination in saffron. | the aim of this work was a comparison of the iso 3632 (2011) method and an hplc-dad method for safranal quantity determination in saffron. samples from different origins were analysed by uv-vis according to iso 3632 (2011) and by hplc-dad. both methods were compared, and there was no correlation between the safranal content obtained by uv-vis and hplc-dad. an over-estimation in the uv-vis experiment was observed, which was related to the cis-crocetin esters content, as well as other compounds. t ... | 2017 | 27979282 |
| molecular phylogeny, diversity, community structure, and plant growth promoting properties of fungal endophytes associated with the corms of saffron plant: an insight into the microbiome of crocus sativus linn. | a total of 294 fungal endophytes were isolated from the corms of crocus sativus at two stages of crocus life cycle collected from 14 different saffron growing sites in jammu and kashmir (j & k) state, india. molecular phylogeny assigned them into 36 distinct internal transcribed spacer (its) genotypes which spread over 19 genera. the diversity of endophytes was higher at the dormant than at the vegetative stage. the saffron microbiome was dominated by phialophora mustea and cadophora malorum, bo ... | 2016 | 27890087 |
| crocus sativus l. protects against sds‑induced intestinal damage and extends lifespan in drosophila melanogaster. | medicinal plants are important sources of potentially therapeutic biochemical drugs. crocus sativus l. has been used to treat various diseases in china, the republic of korea and japan. the present study investigated the protective effect of c. sativus l. extract in drosophila melanogaster intestinal immunity. wild‑type flies were fed standard cornmeal‑yeast medium and used as controls, and flies supplemented with 1% c. sativus l. aqueous extract in standard medium were used as the experimental ... | 2016 | 27878268 |
| trans-crocetin improves amyloid-β degradation in monocytes from alzheimer's disease patients. | herbal medicines have been recently employed in research and clinical studies for the potential treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms associated with alzheimer's disease (ad) and other types of dementia. the present study investigates the effect of trans-crocetin, an active constituent of crocus sativus l., to restore in vitro the reduced ability of ad patients' monocytes to degrade amyloid-β(1-42) (aβ42). cd14(+) monocytes from 22 sporadic ad patients with moderate cognitive impair ... | 2017 | 27865556 |
| saffron: a promising natural medicine in the treatment of metabolic syndrome. | metabolic syndrome is a disorder which encompasses obesity, high blood glucose, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. moreover, metabolic syndrome is considered as the most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (cvd). cvd is the leading cause of mortality in the world for both men and women. several chemical drugs are available to treat metabolic risk factors, but because of the safety, efficacy, cultural acceptability and lesser side effects, nowadays herbal therapy has a ... | 2017 | 27861946 |
| modulation of type-1 and type-2 cannabinoid receptors by saffron in a rat model of retinal neurodegeneration. | experimental studies demonstrated that saffron (crocus sativus) given as a dietary supplement counteracts the effects of bright continuous light (bcl) exposure in the albino rat retina, preserving both morphology and function and probably acting as a regulator of programmed cell death [1]. the purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the neuroprotective effect of saffron on rat retina exposed to bcl is associated with a modulation of the endocannabinoid system (ecs). to this aim, we used e ... | 2016 | 27861558 |
| patents on therapeutic and cosmetic applications of bioactives of crocus sativus l. and their production through synthetic biology methods: a review. | saffron (crocus sativus l.) has a long history of use as a food additive and a traditional medicine for treating a number of disorders. prominent bioactives of saffron are crocin, crocetin and safranal. | 2016 | 27842483 |
| medicinal herbs in iranian traditional medicine for learning and memory. | a few factors such as age, stress, and emotions may lead to impaired learning, memory loss, amnesia, and dementia or threats like schizophrenia and alzheimer's disease (ad). iranian traditional medicine (itm) recommends some herbs and herbal preparations for the treatment or prevention of cns problems. | 2016 | 27840509 |
| assessing saffron (crocus sativus l.) adulteration with plant-derived adulterants by diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics. | saffron, the dried red stigmas of the plant crocus sativus l., is well-known as one of the most important and expensive spices worldwide. it is thus highly susceptible to fraudulent practices that employ, among others, plant-derived adulterants. this study presents an application of diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform spectroscopy (drifts) and chemometric techniques for evaluating adulteration of saffron with six characteristic adulterants of plant origin, i.e. c. sativus stamens, cal ... | 2017 | 27837871 |
| crocin attenuates kindling development and associated cognitive impairments in mice via inhibiting reactive oxygen species-mediated nf-κb activation. | crocin is a pharmacologically active carotenoid pigment mainly present in the stigmas of crocus sativus l. (iridaceae). it has been well explored in experimental animal models of cognitive impairments, depression, anxiety and epilepsy. this study was designed to understand the effect of crocin on pentylenetetrazol (ptz)-induced kindling development and its associated cognitive deficit in mouse. crocin treatment at 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg p.o. doses showed a marked reduction in severity of ptz-induced ... | 2017 | 27800651 |
| medicinal plants for the treatment of asthma: a traditional persian medicine perspective. | to search major traditional persian medicine (tpm) textbooks for medicinal plants used to treat asthma. the conformity of the tpm findings on the anti-asthmatic efficacy of plants with the findings of pharmacological studies was also explored. | 2016 | 27774904 |
| protective effects of saffron extract and crocin supplementation on fatty liver tissue of high-fat diet-induced obese rats. | saffron is the dried stigma of crocus sativus l. flower which commonly used as a natural remedy to enhance health and even fights disease in the middle-east and southeast asian countries. | 2016 | 27770798 |
| geographical identification of saffron (crocus sativus l.) by linear discriminant analysis applied to the uv-visible spectra of aqueous extracts. | we attempted geographical classification of saffron using uv-visible spectroscopy, conventionally adopted for quality grading according to the iso normative 3632. we investigated 81 saffron samples produced in l'aquila, città della pieve, cascia, and sardinia (italy) and commercial products purchased in various supermarkets. exploratory principal component analysis applied to the uv-vis spectra of saffron aqueous extracts revealed a clear differentiation of the samples belonging to different qua ... | 2017 | 27765245 |
| crocin protects human erythrocytes from nitrite-induced methemoglobin formation and oxidative damage. | sodium nitrite (nano2 ) is a common contaminant of drinking water and food and feed chain. nitrite induces oxidative damage in humans and animals. in this work, we studied the protective effect of crocin, the active constituent of crocus sativus (saffron), on nano2 -induced oxidative damage in human erythrocytes. changes in oxidative stress parameters following nano2 incubation of erythrocytes in presence and absence of crocin were determined. it was found that crocin pre-treatment significantly ... | 2016 | 27680892 |
| crocus sativus l. versus citalopram in the treatment of major depressive disorder with anxious distress: a double-blind, controlled clinical trial. | introduction: saffron (crocus sativus l.) has demonstrated antidepressant effects in clinical studies and extensive anxiolytic effects in experimental animal models. methods: 66 patients with major depressive disorder accompanied by anxious distress were randomly assigned to receive either saffron (30 mg/day) or citalopram (40 mg/day) for 6 weeks. hamilton rating scale for depression (ham-d) and hamilton rating scale for anxiety (ham-a) were used to assess treatment effect during the trial. resu ... | 2016 | 27701683 |
| comparative metagenomics reveal phylum level temporal and spatial changes in mycobiome of belowground parts of crocus sativus. | plant-fungal associations have been explored by routine cultivation based approaches and cultivation based approaches cannot catalogue more than 5% of fungal diversity associated with any niche. in the present study, an attempt has been made to catalogue fungal diversity associated with belowground parts i.e. rhizosphere and cormosphere, of crocus sativus (an economically important herb) during two growth stages, using cultivation independent its gene targeted approach, taking bulk soil as refer ... | 2017 | 27685092 |