Saffron, the dried red-orange stigmas of Crocus sativus L, has been known as a flavoring agent, food coloring and traditional herbal medicine. Pharmacological effects of saffron are mainly attributed to crocin, crocetin, picrocrocin and safranal. These components especially crocin, have significant effects including antidepressant and anticonvulsant, analgesic, anti-cancer and other therapeutic...

Brain aging is characterized by cognitive decline and memory deficits that could be the result of oxidative stress and impaired cholinergic function. In this study, the effects of a daily, 7-day, intraperitoneal administration of saffron on cognitive functions were examined in both healthy adult (4 months old) and aged (20 months old), male Balb-c mice (n=8/group), by passive avoidance test. Wh...

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 styl...

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...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the result of the accumulation of adipose tissue deposits in the liver and it is associated with type 2 diabetes. Crocus sativus (saffron) is known for its antioxidant and its potential hypoglycemic effects. We investigated the role of saffron on NAFLD in diabetic rats. Thirty adult male rats were allocated into three groups; control (n=10), which re...

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...

conclusions the excellent antimicrobial activities of the tested eos might be due to their major phenolic or alcoholic monoterpenes with known antimicrobial activities. hence, these eos can be possibly used as an antimicrobial agent in treatment and control of oral pathogens. results the tested eos inhibited the growth of examined oral pathogens at concentrations of 0.015-16 µl/ml. among the ex...

objectives: mentha longifolia l. (lamiaceae) is an annual herb that is used in the iranian traditional medicine for treating stomach and intestinal disorders. the purpose of this study was to determine the protective effect of m. longifolia on experimental diarrhea in a rat model. materials and methods: the antidiarrheal activity of essential oil of m. longifolia (20-80 mg/kg) was investigated ...

this study was designed to examine bioactive compounds of the thyme-enriched corn oil and to determine the antioxidant activity of its methanolic extract. volatile compounds composition was investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (gc-ms), whereas phenolic compounds analysis was performed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (rp-hplc). antioxidant activities of t...

background & aim: ziziphora clinopodioides lam (kakuty-e-kohi) is an aromatic and medicinal plant belonging to the family labiaceae. the essential from this species contains pulegune that having effects such as sedative, stomach tonic, to treat colds, depression, diarrhea, cough, migraine, fever, and antiseptic. this study aimed to identify the chemical composition of essential oil ziziphor...