Table 1.

In vitro biological activities of Crocus plants.

Extract/compound	Tested cell lines/methods of analysis	Effect/mechanisms	Ref.
Cytotoxic activity
Saffron/aqueous extract	A549 lung cancer cells MTT Morphological change: inverted microscope Apoptosis: flow cytometry	IC50 = 390 μg/mL Inhibition and shrinkage of cancer cells ↑percentage of early and late apoptotic cells	[60]
Crocin/aqueous extract	MCF-7 breast cancer cells MTT Apoptosis: flow cytometry Caspase-7, caspase-9, P53, and PARP: western blot	IC50 = 3.5 mg/mL Crocin and paclitaxel: ↑apoptosis, ↑caspase-7, ↑caspase-9, ↑p53, and ↑PARP	[61]
Saffron and its derivatives/ethanolic extract	HeLa human cervical epithelioid carcinoma cells Cytotoxicity assay Morphological change: microscopy	IC50 = 2.3 mg/mL for saffron, IC50 = 3 mM for crocin, IC50 = 0.8 mM for safranal, and IC50 = 3 mM for picrocrocin ↑cytotoxicity	[63]
Saffron	HeLa human cervical epithelioid carcinoma cells colony formation inhibitory assay	↓tumor cell growth Trans-crocin 3: inhibitory effect	[90]
Crocin	HL-60 leukaemia cells Apoptosis: flow cytometry MTT	IC50 = 0.625 − 10 mg/mL ↓cell proliferation dose-dependently ↑cell cycle arrest at the G0-G1 phase	[64]
Saffron juice	Caco-2 colon cancer cells MTT	IC50 = 50 μL/m ↓cell viability	[65]
Saffron/aqueous extract	MCF-7 breast cancer cells gene expression level of MMP using RT PCR trypan blue test	↓MMP gene expression	[62]
Antimicrobial activity
Crocus sativus/petroleum ether, methanolic extracts	Agar well diffusion	Petroleum ether extract: effective against Proteus vulgaris, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa methanolic extract: ↓development of S. aureus, E. coli	[69]
Crocus sativus/two extracts one contained the aglycon part of flavonoids the other contained flavonoids glycosides	Agar well diffusion	The extract that contained the glycosidic part of flavonoids exhibited weak antimicrobial activity	[70]
Saffron/aqueous extract	Modified well plate test	↓growth inhibition zone tested pathogens: E. coli, S. aureus, and S. faecalis	[72]
Antioxidant activity
Crocus chrysanthus (Herb.)/ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts	DPPH reductive potentials, metal chelating phosphomolybdenum method	The water extract showed the most powerful antioxidant activity	[81]
Crocin, saffron/ethanolic extract	Antihemolysis activity DPPH, lipid peroxidation Phosphomolybdenum method	The saffron extract exhibited 107 mg α-tocopherol/g DPPH radical-scavenging activity and 98.3, 90.8, and 33.1 mg α-tocopherol/g, respectively, for crocin-1, crocin-2, and crocin-3	[82]
Saffron/ethanolic, methanolic extract	DPPH ferric reducing antioxidant power	Methanolic extract 300 μg/mL: ↑↑antioxidant activity	[83]
Saffron/corms, tepals, and leaves	β-Carotene/linoleate model system, reducing power, DPPH, NO, radical scavenging, iron, and copper chelation	The best antioxidant activity: leaves and tepal extract, the least antioxidant activity: corms	[84]
Saffron/aqueous extract	Bronchial epithelial cells	↓NO, ↓iNOS, and ↓peroxynitrite ion generation ↓cytochrome c release	[86]
Antidiabetic
Crocus chrysanthus (Herb.)/ethyl acetate, methanol, and aqueous extracts	α-Glucosidase inhibition α-Amylase inhibition	α-Glucosidase inhibition: 14.8-1.89 mmol acarbose equivalent/g according to different extracts α-Amylase inhibition: 0.8-0.15 mmol acarbose equivalent/g	[81]

Abbreviations and symbols: ↑ increased, ↓ decreased, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH), induced nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitric oxide (NO), and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP).