Kumkum Kesara (Crocus Sativus)

Recent Research on Kumkum Kesara

• The present study aimed to investigate the anti-hyperglycemic and protective potential of crocin, a pharmacologically active constituent of Crocus sativus L., in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. In conclusion, findings suggest that crocin has hypoglycemic and antioxidative properties in streptozotocin-induced diabetes and it may be useful in the management of diabetic patients. Rajaei Z, Hadjzadeh MA, Nemati H, Hosseini M, Ahmadi M, Shafiee S. Antihyperglycemic and antioxidant activity of crocin in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. J Med Food. 2013 Mar; 16 (3): 206- 10. doi 10. 1089/ jmf. 2012. 2407. E pub 2013 Feb 25.
• In this study, they aimed to investigate the effects of crocin on MMP- 1, MMP- 3, and MMP- 13 expression in rabbit chondrocytes induced by interleukin- 1B (IL-1ß) and in an experimental rabbit model induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection. Findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory activity of crocin may be of potential value in the prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis. Ding O, Zhong H, Qi Y, Cheng Y, Li W, Yan S, Wang X. Anti-arthritic effects of crocin in interleukin 19- treated articular chondrocytes and cartilage in a rabbit osteoarthritic model. Inflammatory Res. 2013 Jan; 62 (1): 17. 25. doi 10. 1007/ 00011- 012-0546- 3. Epub 2012 Aug 18.
• Patel, Sweta & Sarwat, Maryam & Khan, Tajdar. (2017). Mechanism Behind the Anti-Tumour Potential of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.): The Molecular Perspective. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology. 115. 10.  1016/ j. criterion. 2017. 04. 010. Cancer is a disorder that has noted a significant rise in incidence worldwide and continues to be the largest cause of mortality. It has a dramatic impact on human life expectancy and quality of life despite the increase in technology and the treatments available for cancer patients. These new therapeutic options chemotherapy, radiotherapy, photolytic therapy, and catalytic therapy are known to have many adverse reactions and also no better positive outcomes than before. Hence, research is now focused more on utilizing the vast repertoire of traditional medicinal knowledge i.e., the use of flora for the treatment of cancer rather than the use of chemicals. One such herb is the Crocus sativus L., commonly known as Saffron, rich in carotenoids − crocin, crocetin, and safranin. Various studies have been carried out over the past few years to confirm the anti-cancer properties of saffron, both in vivo using animal models and in vitro using human malignant cell lines on various types of cancers with positive results. The proposed mechanism of action has also been worked upon. This review is aimed to provide a brief overview of the anti-tumor potential of saffron focusing on the molecular mechanism involved.
• Lahmass, Iliass & Ouahhoud, Sabir & Elmansuri, Mohammed & Sabouni, Assia & Mohammed, Elyoubi & Benabbas, Redouane & Choukri, Mohammed & Saalaoui, Ennouamane. (2018). Determination of Antioxidant Properties of Six By-Products of Crocus sativus L. (Saffron) Plant Products. Waste and Biomass Valorization. 9. 10. 1007/ s12649- 017- 9851- y. Purpose Crocus sativus L. is one of the spices believed to possess antioxidant activities. The stigma of saffron has been widely used as a spice for culinary purposes, as a food colorant, and medicinal plant. In this research, we evaluate and compare the antioxidant properties of ethanolic extracts of six different by-products of the Crocus sativus plant including dry leaves, green leaves, corms, tunics, paths, and stigmas. Methods The antioxidant activity was evaluated using in vitro assays such as total antioxidant capacity, DPPH free radical, Scavenging of H2O2, FRAP, and β-carotene bleaching assay. Results- The results showed that all extracts possess antioxidant properties and scavenging activities. Extract from stigmas revealed lower activity than that of other by-products, corms extract showed the highest level of free radical-scavenging activity. Spathes extract showed the strangest protection from β-carotene bleaching among all extracts. Conclusions, therefore, all by-products produced from the harvesting of saffron stigma could be applied as a natural antioxidant source for biological activities. 
• Ahmad Baba, Shoib & Malik, Aubid & Wani, Zahoor & Mohiuddin, Tabasum & Hamid, Zeeshan & Abbas, Nazia & Ashraf, Nasheeman. (2015). Phytochemical analysis and antioxidant activity of different tissue types of Crocus sativus and oxidative stress alleviating potential of saffron extract in plants, bacteria, and yeast. South African Journal of Botany. 99. 10. 1016/ j. sab. 2015. 03. 194. Crocus sativus L. belongs to the family Iridaceae and its stigma part which forms commercial saffron has been used as a spice and medicine ever since the Greek-Minoan civilization. Saffron is considered the most expensive spice in the world and the site for the biosynthesis of peculiar metabolites (apocarotenoids), responsible for its characteristic color, flavor, and aroma. There is enough literature citing the antioxidant properties of saffron metabolites, but most of the knowledge accumulated so far comes from the stigma part only, while other plant parts particularly the vegetative tissues have not been worked out. The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of three different tissue types of Crocuses viz stigma, corm, and leaf. The phytochemical analysis carried out using LC-MS showed that the major constituents identified were flavonoids like kaempferol, taxifolin, naringenin, etc., and apocarotenoids including crocin, crocetin, and their derivatives. Also, the total phenolic, flavonoid, and carotenoid contents were determined. The antioxidant property of these tissue types was also investigated and compared by biochemical assays like DPPH, NBT, and FRAP. The ethanolic fraction of stigma demonstrated the strongest antioxidant activity which could be attributed to its highest content of phenolics and flavonoids. Stigma extract was further evaluated for its role in alleviating oxidative stress in plants, yeast, and bacteria. The results showed that stigma extracts reduced methyl viologen-induced chlorophyll damage, lipid peroxidation, and protein oxidation in plants thereby rendering them more tolerant to stress. It was also shown to alleviate H2O2-mediated oxidative stress tolerance in bacteria and yeast.
• Arasteh, Ali & Aliyev, Ali & Khamnei, Saeed & Delazar, Abbas & Mesgari Abbasi, Mehran & Mehman navaz, Yousef. (2010). Effects of hydroethanolic extract of saffron (Crocus sativus) on serum glucose, insulin, and cholesterol levels in healthy male rats. Journal of Medicinal Plants. 4. 397- 402. Saffron and its constituents are reported to have a wide range of biological activities. To determine the hypoglycemic effect of hydro methanolic extract of saffron, which has rarely been dealt with in previous studies, and the hypolipidemic effect of saffron extract, we investigated the effects of a hydro-methanolic extract of saffron on healthy male rats. The present study also aimed at evaluating the effects of the saffron extract on the insulin secretory function of pancreatic β-cells. In this study, healthy male rats (n = 30) were divided into 3 groups of ten: The test group (saffron group), the sham group (physiologic serum group), and the normal group. The test group received 50 mg/ kg saffron extract through intra- peritoneal injection. The sham group was also intraperitoneally injected with 50 mg/ kg of physiologic serum solvent for 2 weeks. The daily injection was repeated at 10 am. Blood samples were obtained from the retro-orbital sinus before administration and on the 7th and 14th days of administration. The serum glucose and cholesterol levels were measured by the enzymatic method and insulin levels were measured using an insulin kit by ELISA method. The results showed that hydro methanolic extract of saffron on the 7th day of administration significantly decreased serum glucose in the saffron group without having any effects on serum cholesterol and insulin levels. On the 14th day of administration, we found a significant decrease in serum glucose and cholesterol levels in the saffron group. In addition, after 2 weeks, serum insulin in the test group significantly increased compared to the sham and normal groups. No changes were observed in serum glucose, cholesterol, and insulin levels in sham and normal groups on the 7th and 14th days of administration. These results suggest that saffron extract has hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects on healthy male rats. Moreover, the saffron extract could increase insulin secretion from pancreatic β- cells. Therefore, it should be considered in future therapeutic research.
• In this study, the effects of saffron (Crocus sativus) stigma aqueous extract and two active constituents, crocin, and safranal, were investigated on blood pressure of normotensive and deoxycorticosterone acetate-induced hypertensive rats. Safranal is more important than crocin for lowering down blood pressure of rats. Imenshahidi M, Hosseinzadeh H, Javadpour Y. Hypotensive effect of aqueous saffron extract (Crocus sativus L.) and its constituents, safranal, and crocin, in normotensive and hypertensive rats Phytother Res. 2010 Jul; 24 (7): 990- 4. doi: 10. 11002/ ptr. 3044.
• BUTNARIU, Monica & Quispe, Cristina & Herrera, Jesús & Sharifi-Rad, Javad & Singh, Laxman & Aborehab, Nora & Bouyahya, Abdelhakim & Venditti, Alessandro & Sen, Surjit & Acharya, Krishnendu & Bashiry, Moein & Ezzat, Shahira & Setzer, William & Martorell, Miquel & Mileski, Ksenija & Bagiu, Iulia & Anca Oana, Docea & Cho, Wi. (2022). The Pharmacological Activities of Crocus sativus L.: A Review Based on the Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities of its Phytoconstituents. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. 2022. 10. 1155/ 2022/ 8214821. Crocus species are mainly distributed in North Africa, Southern, and Central Europe, and Western Asia, used in gardens and parks as ornamental plants, while Crocus sativus L. (saffron) is the only species that is cultivated for edible purposes. The use of saffron is very ancient; besides its use as a spice, saffron has long been known also for its medical and coloring qualities. Due to its distinctive flavor and color, it is used as a spice, which imparts food preservative activity owing to its antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. This updated review discusses the biological properties of Crocus sativus L. and its phytoconstituents, their pharmacological activities, signaling pathways, and molecular targets, therefore highlighting it as a potential herbal medicine. Clinical studies regarding its pharmacologic potential in clinical therapeutics and toxicity studies were also reviewed. For this updated review, a search was performed in the PubMed, Science, and Google Scholar databases using keywords related to Crocus sativus L. and the biological properties of its phytoconstituents. From this search, only the relevant works were selected. The phytochemistry of the most important bioactive compounds in Crocus sativus L. such as crocin, crocetin, picrocrocin, and safranal, as also dozens of other compounds were studied and identified by various physicochemical methods. Isolated compounds and various extracts have proven their pharmacological efficacy at the molecular level and signaling pathways both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, toxicity studies and clinical trials were analyzed. The research results highlighted the various pharmacological potentials such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxic, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, antidepressant, hypolipidemic, and antihyperglycemic properties and protection of retinal lesions. Due to its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, saffron has proven effective as a natural food preservative. Starting from the traditional uses for the treatment of several diseases, the bioactive compounds of Crocus sativus L. have proven their effectiveness in modern pharmacological research. However, pharmacological studies are needed in the future to identify new mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetic studies, new pharmaceutical formulations for target transport, and possible interactions with allopathic drugs.
• Milajerdi, Alireza & Djafarian, Kurosh & Hosseini, Benita. (2015). The toxicity of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and its constituents against normal and cancer cells. Journal of Nutrition & Intermediary Metabolism. 3. 10. 1016/ j. jnim. 2015. 12. 332. Background and aims: Saffron is a spice with preventive and curative effects. This study aimed to review the toxicity of saffron extract and its constituents on normal and cancer cells. Methods: We searched the PubMed, Science direct, SID, and Magiran databases up to November 2015 using the following keywords: toxicity, saffron, crocin, crocetin, safranal, and cancer. Finally, 73 English and 5 Persian articles were selected to be recruited to be reviewed. Results: Saffron has selective toxicity against cancer cells, through inhibition of RNA and DNA synthesis and increasing apoptosis. Crocin has been considered the most important anticancer agent of saffron that plays a role in gene expression and apoptosis in cancer cells. Crocetin has an inhibitory effect on cancer cell growth that may be due to reduced synthesis of DNA, RNA, and protein in neoplastic cells, RNA polymerase II inhibition, and interaction with histone H1 and H1- DNA structures. Saffron and its crocin and crocetin have also shown anticancer and cancer-preventive effects in animal models of cancer. Safranal also has shown antitumor activity with low toxicity. On the other hand, the lethal dose of 50% (LD50) for the saffron and its constituents against normal cells can be very high. Conclusion: In conclusion, emerging evidence suggests that saffron extract and its crocin, crocetin, and safranal have a selective toxicity effect against cancer cells and also may have cancer preventive functions. However, Saffron and its constituent’s toxicity against normal cells is negligible and they are even non-toxic in oral administration.
• This study aimed to investigate the antidepressant properties of stigmas and corms of Crocus sativus L. The aqueous ethanol extract of C. sativus corms was fractionated based on polarity. The results suggest that the low polarity parts of C. sativus corms should be considered as a new plant material for curing depression, which merits further studies regarding antidepressant-like activities of chemical compounds isolated from the two fractions and mechanism of action. Wang Y, Han T, Zhu Y, Zheng CJ, Ming OL, Rahman K, Qin LP. Antidepressant properties of bioactive fractions from the extract of Crocus sativus L. J Nat Med. 2010 Jan; 64 (1): 24- 30. doi 10. 1007/ s 11418- 009- 0360- 6. Epub 2009 Sep 29.
• Sheng, Liang & Qian, Zhiyu & Zheng, Shuguo & Xi, Liang. (2006). Mechanism of hypolipidemic effect of crocin in rats: Crocin inhibits pancreatic lipase. European journal of pharmacology. 543. 116- 22. 10.1016/ j. tephra. 2006. 05. 038. The hypolipidemic mechanism of crocin, an active ingredient in Gardenia jasminoides Ellis and Crocus sativus L, was examined in rats. In diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats, a 10-day treatment with crocin significantly reduced serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol levels in the daily dose range of 25 to 100 mg/kg. Results of the modified fat-loading method indicated that crocin inhibited the absorption of fat and cholesterol and this inhibition is closely related to the hydrolysis of fat. In addition, the modified fat-balance method demonstrated that crocin increased the fecal excretion of fat and cholesterol in rats but had no influence on the elimination of bile acids. The results of the in-situ loop method and enzyme assay indicated that crocin could not directly block the absorption of cholesterol from rat jejunum but could selectively inhibit the activity of pancreatic lipase as a competitive inhibitor. These findings suggest that crocin yielded its hypolipidemic effect by inhibiting pancreatic lipase, leading to the malabsorption of fat and cholesterol.
• S. In this study, the anxiolytic and hypnotic effects of saffron aqueous extract and its constituents crocin and safranal were studied in mice. The results showed that saffron aqueous extract and safranal have anxiolytic and hypnotic effects. Hosseinzadeh H, Noraei NB.  The anxiolytic and hypnotic effect of Crocus sativus aqueous extract and its constituents, crocin, and safranal, in mice. Phytother Res. 2009 Jun; 23 (6): 768- 74. doi 10. 1002/ ptr. 2597.
• The effect of plant extract on macromolecular synthesis was examined in three human cell lines- A549 (derived from a lung tumor), W1-38 (normal lung fibroblasts), and VA- 13 (WI- 38 cells transformed in vivo by SV 40 tumor virus). Malignant cells were more sensitive than normal cells to the inhibitory effect of the extract on both DNA & RNA synthesis (BioFactors 1992, 4, 43).
• Makhlouf, Hassane & Saksouk, Mariam & Habib, Jean & Chahine, Ramez. (2011). Determination of the antioxidant activity of saffron taken from the flower of Crocus sativus grown in Lebanon. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY. 10 (41). 8093- 8100. 10. 5897/ AJB11. 406. Since oxidative stress has been implicated in the most common cause of death, especially in the case of cancer and cardiovascular disease, natural substances and spices that show antioxidant effects merit a closer examination. Saffron is a yellow natural spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus and used as a coloring agent in many foods worldwide. In this study, we determined the total polyphenols content in the Lebanese saffron and the antioxidant effects of different extracts from this saffron in vitro using electrolysis of physiological solution for generation of free radicals (FR) in the presence of colorimetric indicator N, N- di- ethyl- P- phenylenediamine; the absorbance was measured spectrophotometrically at 515 nm. Histopathological studies allowed us to observe the damages caused by FR in the isolated organs of hamsters (kidney, liver, lungs, and heart) and on the other hand the protection that saffron provided to these vital organs. By using assay kits, we evaluated the levels of lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase activity, the important free radical scavenging enzyme. The results showed that both boiled and soaked saffron at 0.45 mg/ml are highly effective against FR generated by electrolysis and against the damages caused to the organs tested as observed by light microscopy. Moreover, saffron significantly (p < 0.05) decreased lipid peroxidation and increased superoxide dismutase activity in all tissues used as compared to the control. We concluded that Lebanese saffron strongly protects vital organs against oxidative stress. 
• Prajapati, Pk & Sharma, Rohit & Patigiri, Bj & Pk, & Prajapati, Pradeep. (2014). Clinical efficacy of Kumkumadi Ghrita prepared by Kesar and Nagakesar on Mukhadushika (Acne vulgaris). International Journal of Pharma Sciences and Research (IJPSR) 0975- 9492. 5. 806- 811. Introduction: Despite a large number of treatment options for Mukhdushika (Acne vulgaris), efforts are still carried out by medical society to bring out more effective treatment. Kumkumadi Ghrita (KG) is one of the highly valued formulations among Ayurvedic physicians, commonly recommended in Mukhdushika. Kesar (stigma of Crocus sativus Linn) is a prime ingredient in the formulation. Due to high cost and increased adulteration trends in
• Kesar, another botanical ‘Nagakesar’ (stigma of Mesua ferrea Linn.) is suggested by Ayurvedic experts as a substitute, which has a relatively low cost and possesses similar therapeutic attributes to Kesar. However, no published work has been available to date on the comparative clinical efficacy of KG prepared by Kesar and Nagakesar. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the comparative clinical efficacy of Kesaryukta (with Kesar) Kumkumadi Ghrita (KKG) and Nagakesar yukata (with Nagakesar) Kumkumadi Ghrita (NKG). Materials and Methods: Sixty known patients of Mukhdushika of both genders were selected. Both KKG and NKG were used as an external application by Abhyanga (massage) for 15 minutes and keep it for 10 minutes and then wash face with Besan (Gram powder) once a day, for 4 weeks duration. Suitable diet and lifestyle modifications were advised along with the therapy. The obtained data was analyzed statistically by applying paired ‘t-test. Results and conclusion: Both groups of KG were found effective in the treatment of Mukhdushika. Though, on signs and symptoms, KKG showed a comparatively slightly better effect; overall comparing the clinical efficacy of both groups, statistically, no major difference was found. Since NKG is highly cost-effective than KKG, the present study warrants the use of Nagakesar in place of Kesar for the preparation of KG.