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      Toxicology effects of saffron and its constituents: a review

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          Abstract

          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 current study provides classified information about the toxic effects of saffron and its constituents in various exposure conditions including acute, sub-acute, sub-chronic and chronic studies. Therapeutic doses of saffron exhibits no significant toxicity in both clinical and experimental investigations.

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          Bioactivity assessment and toxicity of crocin: a comprehensive review.

          Seyedeh Hoda Alavizadeh, Hossein Hosseinzadeh (2014)
          Since ancient times, saffron, the dried stigma of the plant Crocus sativus L. has been extensively used as a spice and food colorant; in folk medicine it has been reputed to be efficacious for the alleviation and treatment of ailments. In addition to the three founded major constituents including crocin, picrocrocin and safranal, presence of carotenoids, carbohydrates, proteins, anthocyanins, vitamins and minerals provide valuable insights into the health benefits and nutritional value of saffron. Of the carotenoids present in saffron, highly water-soluble crocin (mono and diglycosyl esters of a polyene dicarboxylic acid, named crocetin) is responsible for the majority of its color, and appears to possess various health-promoting properties, as an antioxidant, antitumor, memory enhancer, antidepressant, anxiolytic and aphrodisiac. It is also worth noting that the crocin principle of saffron exhibited high efficacy along with no major toxicity in experimental models. We would be remiss to not consider the great potential of saffron and crocin, which benefits the cuisine and health of human life throughout the world. The present study provides a comprehensive and updated report of empirical investigations on bioactivities and biological characteristics of crocin. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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            Avicenna's (Ibn Sina) the Canon of Medicine and saffron (Crocus sativus): a review.

            Hossein Hosseinzadeh, Marjan Nassiri-Asl (2013)
            In this review, we introduce the traditional uses of saffron and its pharmacological activities as described by either Avicenna in Book II, Canon of Medicine (al-Qanun fi al-tib) or from recent scientific studies. Modern pharmacological findings on saffron are compared with those mentioned in Avicenna's monograph. A computerized search of published articles was performed using MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science databases as well as local references. The search terms used were saffron, Crocus sativus, crocin, crocetin, safranal, picrocrocin, Avicenna and 'Ibn Sina'. Avicenna described various uses of saffron, including its use as an antidepressant, hypnotic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, bronchodilatory, aphrodisiac, inducer of labour, emmenagogue and others. Most of these effects have been studied in modern pharmacology and are well documented. The pharmacological data on saffron and its constituents, including crocin, crocetin and safranal, are similar to those found in Avicenna's monograph. This review indicates that the evaluation of plants based on ethnobotanical information and ancient books may be a valuable approach to finding new biological activities and compounds. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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              Comparison of Crocus sativus L. and imipramine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: A pilot double-blind randomized trial [ISRCTN45683816]

              Shahin Akhondzadeh, Hasan Fallah-Pour, Khosro Afkham … (2004)
              Background The morbidity and mortality associated with depression are considerable and continue to increase. Depression currently ranks fourth among the major causes of disability worldwide, after lower respiratory infections, prenatal conditions, and HIV/AIDS. Crocus sativus L. is used to treat depression. Many medicinal plants textbooks refer to this indication whereas there is no evidence-based document. Our objective was to compare the efficacy of stigmas of Crocus sativus (saffron) with imipramine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression in a 6-week pilot double-blind randomized trial. Methods Thirty adult outpatients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition for major depression based on the structured clinical interview for DSM IV participated in the trial. Patients have a baseline Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score of at least 18. In this double-blind, single-center trial, patients were randomly assigned to receive capsule of saffron 30 mg/day (TDS) (Group 1) and capsule of imipramine 100 mg/day (TDS) (Group 2) for a 6-week study. Results Saffron at this dose was found to be effective similar to imipramine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression (F = 2.91, d.f. = 1, P = 0.09). In the imipramine group anticholinergic effects such as dry mouth and also sedation were observed more often that was predictable. Conclusion The main overall finding from this study is that saffron may be of therapeutic benefit in the treatment of mild to moderate depression. To the best of our knowledge this is the first clinical trial that supports this indication for saffron. A large-scale trial with placebo control is warranted.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Iran J Basic Med Sci
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Iran J Basic Med Sci
                Title: Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences
                Publisher: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Iran )
                ISSN (Print): 2008-3866
                ISSN (Electronic): 2008-3874
                Publication date (Print): February 2017
                Volume: 20
                Issue: 2
                Pages: 110-121
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
                [2 ]Pharmaceutical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
                [3 ]Neurocognitive Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
                Author notes
                [* ] Corresponding author: Hossein Hosseinzadeh. Pharmaceutical Research Center, Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Tel: +98-51-38819042; Fax: +98-51-38823251; email: hosseinzadehh@ 123456mums.ac.ir
                Article
                Publisher ID: IJBMS-20-110
                DOI: 10.22038/ijbms.2017.8230
                PMC ID: 5339650
                PubMed ID: 28293386
                SO-VID: 2fa62cf9-f6e4-40e7-a7a4-f0556e0088fc
                Copyright © Copyright: © Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences
                License:

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 04 July 2016
                Date accepted : 19 October 2016
                Categories
                Subject: Review Article

                Keywords: crocetin,crocin,saffron,safranal,toxicity
                Data availability:
                Keywords: crocetin, crocin, saffron, safranal, toxicity

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