TABLE 4.
Effect of crocetin on nervous system diseases.
| Pharmacologic action | The subjects | Doses | Mechanism of action | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memory-enhancing effect | Rats with chronic cerebral hypoperfusion | Crocetin (8 mg/kg) | Protective effect on the cerebral cortex and hippocampal neurons | Mohajeri et al. (2013) |
| Alzheimer’s disease (AD) | SH-SY5Y and PC12 cells | Inhibits the active forms of GSK3β and ERK 1/2 kinases and significantly reduces the total tau protein and tau protein phosphorylation | Chalatsa et al. (2019) | |
| 7PA2 cell | Crocetin (10 μmol) | Modulates the expression of CTF-α and CTF-β | Wong et al. (2020) | |
| HT22 cell | Reduces oxidative stress | Yoshino et al. (2014) | ||
| Mouse hippocampal HT22 cell | Crocetin (1 and 5 μmol) | Improves the reduction of cell activity and mitochondrial membrane potential | Kong et al. (2014) | |
| CD14+ monocytes from Patients with AD | Trans-crocetin (5 μmol) | Upregulates lysosomal protease cathepsin B to promote the degradation of Aβ42 | Tiribuzi et al. (2016) | |
| Parkinson’s disease | Parkinson’s disease mice | Saffron pigment composition | Increases the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons and enhances the dopamine content | Yao et al. (2018) |
| Parkinson rats | Crocetin (25, 50, 75 μg/kg) | Increases the activities of antioxidant enzymes | Ahmad et al. (2005) | |
| Cerebral injury | Cerebral contusion rats | Crocetin (50 mg/kg) | Inhibits neuronal apoptosis and promotes angiogenesis | Bie et al. (2011) |
| Focal cerebral ischemia rats | Increases the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and reduce the expression of caspase-3 mRNA and NF - κB | Tan and Li (2012) | ||
| Improved sleep quality | Patients with mild insomnia | Crocetin (7.5 mg/kg) | Contributes to maintaining the sleep continuity | Umigai et al. (2018) |
| 21 adult men with mild sleep problems | Crocetin (7.5 mg/kg) | Reduces the frequency of wakening episodes | Kuratsune et al. (2010) | |
| Neuropathic pain | Mice | Reduces tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-β and increases the activity of Mn superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) | Wang et al. (2017a) | |
| Depression | Chronic restraint stress rats | Crocetin (20, 40, 60 mg/kg) | Restores malondialdehyde, glutathione, and antioxidant enzymes to normal levels | Wang et al. (2017b) |
| Chronic stress mice | Crocetin (20, 40, 80 mg/kg) | Influences MKP-1/ERK1/2/CREB pathways | Lin et al. (2020) |