A Systematic Review on the Effect of Saffron Extract on Lipid Profile in Hyperlipidaemic Experimental Animal Models

Abstract

Saffron is widely used in traditional medicine to treat various medical disorders, including hyperlipidaemia. This study aims to systematically review the effects of saffron extract (SE) on lipid profile in in vivo studies. A strategic literature search was done following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The Scopus, PubMed (MEDLINE) and Web of Science databases and hand-searching methods were utilised to identify studies published up to January 2020 that reported the effects of SE on lipid profile in a hyperlipidaemic experimental animal model. A total of six articles met the inclusion criteria. The methods of extraction were aqueous (n = 4), ethanolic (n = 1) and hydroalcoholic (n = 1) extracts. Five doses of SE ranging from 10 mg/kg to 100 mg/kg were administered to rats and hamsters, with a duration ranging from 10 days to 8 weeks. SE at doses of 40 mg/kg/day and 80 mg/kg/day significantly decreased the levels of total cholesterol (21.4%–35.4%), low-density lipoproteins (38.7%–50.0%) and triglycerides (TGs) (29.1%–45.0%) and markedly increased the level of high- density lipoproteins (36.6%–65%) in the treated group compared to the untreated group with a minimum 3-week intervention duration (P < 0.05). This systematic review demonstrated that SE exhibits hypolipidaemic effects compared to a placebo. SE has almost the same ability to reduce cholesterol levels as the standard therapy.

Safety evaluation of saffron extracts in early and established atherosclerotic New Zealand white rabbits

“…The possible justification for these results is due to the therapeutic effect of saffron. Aligning with the present results, previous studies have demonstrated that saffron exhibits hypolipidemic effects [8,31,37,38].…”

“…Presently, saffron stigma extracts and its major bioactive compounds, crocin, crocetin, safranal, and picrocrocin are well-established to produce a variety of pharmacological and therapeutic effects on cardiovascular diseases [6][7][8], asthma [9,10], depression [11,12], dementia [13], premenstrual syndrome [14,15], obesity [16], and diabetes [17]. Although most studies were performed in animals, small-scale clinical trials have also been reported in recent years [18][19][20].…”

Evaluation of Crocin Content and In Vitro Antioxidant and Anti-Glycation Activity of Different Saffron Extracts

“…Similarly, clinical studies performed on patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease showed significantly better outcomes on cognitive function after administering saffron capsules in comparison to placebo [17], while the same effectiveness was observed when saffron capsules were compared to donezepril [18]. Studies carried out on different animal models demonstrated the efficiency of saffron and its active ingredients, crocin and safranal, in the treatment of pathological conditions such as atherosclerosis [19,20], cancer [21][22][23], hyperglycemia, and glucose uptake/metabolization [24]. It is interesting to note that Shirali et al [25] reported the ability of crocin to significantly lower the formation of advanced glycation end-products, in addition to the levels of serum glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol in the diabetic rats.…”

Saffron: A Look from the Customer in Vietnam

“…I read with interest the manuscript titled ‘A systematic review on the effect of saffron extract on lipid profile in hyperlipidaemic experimental animal models’ by Abd Rahim et al ( 1 ). In fact, saffron possesses many medicinal properties because it contains a large number of bioactive compounds, especially carotenoids (crocin and crocetin) and terpenes ( 2 ).…”

“…in daily meals. For medical and pharmaceutical purposes, some studies use ethanol, aqueous ethanol and water to isolate bioactive compounds from raw materials ( 1 ). We can also use methanol, ethyl acetate and other solvents to recover the chemical components.…”