OBJECTIVE Oxidative stress damages cells and brings about the pathogenesis of ischemia/reperfusion injury. This study was carried out to investigate the preconditioning and cardio protective potential effects of crocin and vitamin E by the eNOS and iNOS express gene in ischemia/reperfusion in rats. MATERIAL & METHODS Male rats were divided into seven groups, namely: sham, control group and ex...

Crocin, a bioactive molecule of saffron, inhibited proliferation of both HCT116 wild-type and HCT116 p53(-/-) cell lines at a concentration of 10 mM. Flow cytometric analysis of cell cycle distribution revealed that there was an accumulation of HCT116 wild-type cells in G1 (55.9%, 56.1%) compared to the control (30.4%) after 24 and 48 h of crocin treatment, respectively. However, crocin induced...

A new molecularly imprinted polymer for extraction of crocin from saffron stigmas was prepared using gentiobiose (a glycoside moiety in crocin structure) as a template. Crocin binding to gentiobiose imprinted polymer (Gent-MIP) was studied in comparison with a blank nonimprinted polymer in aqueous media. Affinity of the Gent-MIP for the crocin was more than the nonimprinted polymer at all conce...

OBJECTIVE(S) In this study, the effects of crocin against subchronic toxicity of diazinon (DZN) on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) were evaluated in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Rats were equally divided into 7 groups; control (corn oil), DZN (15 mg/kg), crocin (each group received 12.5, 25 or 50 mg/kg crocin plus DZN), vitamin E (200 IU/kg plus DZN) and crocin (50 mg/kg) tre...

In the present study, the effects of separate and combined intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injections of crocin and diazepam were investigated on penicillin-induced epileptiform activity. In urethane-anesthetized rats, epileptiform activity was induced by intracortical (i.c.) administration of penicillin (200 IU, 1 μl) and was analyzed using electrocorticographic (ECoG) recordings. The icv inj...

AIM To investigate the anti-proliferative effects of Crocus sativus extract and its major constituent, crocin, on three colorectal cancer cell lines (HCT-116, SW-480, and HT-29). The cell growth inhibition effect was compared to that of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. In addition, Crocus sativus' effect on non-cancer cells was evaluated. METHODS Using high performance liquid chromat...

Background: Melanoma is a deadly form of malignancy. Early diagnosis might pave the way to cure but its aggressive nature leads to rapid dissemination and colonization of distant organs. Dietary herbs may play a significant role in prevention of cancer. In this study, we tested anti-tumor efficacy of the Crocus sativus derived active constituent crocin, it is well established to have anti-cance...

Crocin is a carotenoid of the saffron extract that exhibits antitumor activity against many human tumors. However, the effects of crocin on HL-60 cells in vivo have not been evaluated. This study aimed to examine the effects of crocin on HL-60 cells in vitro and in vivo and investigate the underlying mechanisms. HL-60 cells were treated by crocin, and cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cyc...

OBJECTIVE(S) Crocin is a constituent of saffron and has many biological functions. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of intraperitoneal (IP) injection of crocin on sciatic nerve regeneration in male Wistar rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-four rats were divided into 9 groups: groups 1-4 (intact + normal saline and intact + crocin at doses of 5, 20 and 80 mg/kg, respectively)...

We investigated the cytotoxic activities of crocin and crocetin, 2 major carotenoids isolated from the stigma of Crocus sativus (saffron), on 5 human cancer cell lines and proposed their possible anticancer mechanisms. Crocetin, a glycosylated carotenoid, showed approximately 5- to 18-fold higher cytotoxicity than crocin, a carboxylic carotenoid (IC50 of 0.16-0.61 mmol/L for crocetin vs. 2.0-5....