Anti-tumor activity of safranal against neuroblastoma cells

Abstract

Objective:Safranal (2,6,6-trimethyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxaldehyde, C10H14O) is an active ingredient in the saffron, which is used in traditional medicine, and also, the biological activity of saffron in anti-cancer is in development. It has been reported to have anti-oxidant effects, but its anti-tumor effects remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of safranal on anti-tumor on neuroblastoma cells.Materials and Methods:Neuroblastoma cells were cultured and exposed to safranal (0, 10, 15, 20, 50 μg/ml). Cell proliferation was examined using the 3-(4, 5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptotic cells, cell cycle distribution, and sub-G1 fraction were analyzed using flow cytometric analysis after propidium iodide staining.Results:Safranal inhibited the growth of malignant cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. The IC (50) values against the neuroblastoma cell line were determined as 11.1 and 23.3 μg/ml after 24 and 48 h, respectively. Safranal induced a sub-G1 peak in the flow cytometry histogram of treated cells compared to control cells indicating that apoptotic cell death is involved in safranal toxicity.Conclusions:Our pre-clinical study demonstrated a neuroblastoma cell line to be highly sensitive to safranal-mediated growth inhibition and apoptotic cell death. Although the molecular mechanisms of safranal action are not yet clearly understood, it appears to have potential as a therapeutic agent.

Safranal induces DNA double-strand breakage and ER-stress-mediated cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

“…In the present study, safranal significantly inhibited proliferation of HepG2 at 500 µM. In other studies, safranal has shown potent inhibitory effect at lower doses 11 , 12 , 19 suggesting that HepG2 cells might be more resistant to safranal. Nonetheless, effects of safranal on HepG2 are consistent with those reported for saffron and its derivatives 20 .…”

The Neuroprotective Effects of Thymoquinone: A Review

“… 56 In addition, inflammation increases cellular reactive oxygen species production by releasing various NF-κB-mediated pro-inflammatory mediators. 57 Therefore, inhibition of microglial activation may be effective for neuronal cell survival. In this regard, one study 19 indicated that TQ treatment (2.5, 5, and 10 μM) inhibited the release of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β.…”

“… 6 - 13 Thymoquinone has also been indicated to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammation, anticancer, antibacterial, antimutagenic, and antigenotoxic activities. 9 , 14 - 27 Thymoquinone may be considered as a therapeutic agent for the prevention of oral supplementation of chrysin (100 mg/kg body weight) to hyperammonemic rats, which considerably restored the levels of brain ammonia, water content, and the expressions of glutamine synthetase (GS), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL) 1β, IL-6, p65, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Our findings provided substantial evidence that the chrysin synergistically attenuates the neuroinflammatory mechanism by repressing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and upregulating the astrocytic protein expressions via ammonia-reducing strategies.…”

Saffron: An Old Medicinal Plant and a Potential Novel Functional Food

“…Actions along these lines have also been attributed to saffron. Saffron aqueous extract inhibits the progression of different cancer types: gastric [ 128 ], colorectal [ 129 ], pancreatic [ 130 ], and bladder cancer [ 131 ], both in rats and cancer cells, reducing cell growth via apoptosis [ 132 ]. Recent studies with both in vitro and in vivo models indicate that saffron compounds, particularly crocin and crocetin, may have an anticancer effect in breast, lung, pancreatic and leukemic cells [ 5 ].…”