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. 2022 Feb 14;2022:8214821. doi: 10.1155/2022/8214821

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).