Table 4.
The effect of saffron on normal and cancer cell line under in vivo and in vitro conditions
| Condition | type | Dose or Concentration | Toxic responses | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In vivo | Normal | Saffron: 20.7 g/kg | The dose was equivalent to LD50 and was non toxic | (54) | |
| Saffron: 1.2 to 2 g/BW |
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding were observed | (54) | |||
| Saffron: 4 g/day | Non-toxic | (54) | |||
| Saffron: 200 to 400 mg/day |
Saffron decreased slightly red blood cells and platelets (but, these alterations were in normal ranges) | (36) | |||
| Cancerous | Saffron: 100 mg/kg | Saffron extract inhibited onset and progression of induced skin tumors and delay papilloma onset in rats | (56) | ||
| Saffron: 100, 150, and 175 mg/kg |
Saffron inhibited gastric cancer progression dose dependently | (57) | |||
| Saffron extract + cystein 50 mg/kg | Saffron extract along with cysteine significantly reduced cisplatin toxicity | (58) | |||
| Saffron: 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg | Saffron significantly reduced genotoxicity of anti-cancer drugs | (59) | |||
| In vitro | Normal | Fetal lung fibrobl-ast |
Saffron: 0, 0.25,0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4 mg/ml |
No changes in cell viability (IC50 :19.99) | (60) |
| L929 | Saffron: 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 μg/ml | Cell viability didn’t decrease significantly | (61) | ||
| L929 | Saffron: 200–2000 μg/ml | Cell viability did not reduce significantly | (62) | ||
| Cancerous | MCF-7, SKNM and HeLa | Saffron: 0, 0.25,0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4 mg/mL | Concentration-dependent inhibitory effect (IC50 : 0.78, 1.66 and 1.92 on MCF-7, SKNM and HeLa, respectively) | (60) | |
| A549 | Saffron: (500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 μg/ml) | Ethanolic extract of saffron decreased cell viability in malignant cells as a concentration and time-dependent manner (IC50 : 1500 and 565 μg/ml after 24 and 48 hr, respectively) | (61) | ||
| MCF-7 | 200–2000 μg/ml | Decreased cell viability in MCF-7 cells as a concentration and time -dependent manner with an IC50 of 400 ± 18.5 lg/ml after 48 h. apoptotic cell death, increased Bax protein expression | (62) | ||
| MIA-PaCa-2 | Crocetin: 50-200 μmol/l | Crocetin has a significant antitumorigenic effect through the stimulation of apoptotic pathways. | (63) | ||