Beneficial Effects of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Saffron in Alleviating Experimental Autoimmune Diabetes in C57bl/6 Mice

Abstract

Streptozocin (STZ) is a strong alkalizing agent which is capable of destroying the beta cells of the pancreatic islets. Multiple low doses (40 mg/kg, intraperitoneally for 5 consecutive days) prescription of STZ to mice can lead to the T cell-dependent immune response and induction of autoimmune diabetes (AD) with complete similarity to the human type 1 diabetes (T1D). This study has evaluated the effects of hydroalcoholic extract of saffron on the clinical and immunological profile of experimental autoimmune diabetes in C57BL/6 mice.
 After the establishment of the AD, mice were treated orally with hydroalcoholic extract of saffron (500 mg/kg) for 3 weeks. The results with p<0.05 were considered significant.
 Obtained data showed that treatment with the hydroalcoholic extract of saffron significantly reduced the incidence of hypoglycemia and restored insulin secretion and histopathological changes in pancreas sections. In addition, treatment with saffron reduced lymphocyte proliferation index in the cells isolated from the pancreas of diabetic mice. Also, the extract of saffron markedly decreased the production of pro-inflammatory interleukin-17 (IL-17) increased anti-inflammatory IL-10 and transforming growth factor-β in the pancreatic cell population. Moreover, the production of proinflammatory nitric oxide and reactive oxygen substances were down-regulated by the saffron extract.
 It seems that the hydroalcoholic extract of saffron can be considered as a useful strategy in the treatment of type 1 diabetes.

Intraperitoneal Lavage with Crocus sativus Prevents Postoperative‐Induced Peritoneal Adhesion in a Rat Model: Evidence from Animal and Cellular Studies

“…In another study, Crocus sativus (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg) diminished IL-4 and NO levels, while it enhanced IFN- γ and IFN- γ /IL-4 ratio levels in ovalbumin-sensitised guinea pigs [ 59 ]. Faridi and coworkers suggested that hydroalcoholic extract of C. sativus (500 mg/kg) mitigates IFN- γ and IL-17 and augments IL-10 levels following streptozocin-induced autoimmune diabetes in C57BL/6 mice [ 60 ]. However, the levels of the extract were considerably higher than what we investigated in our study.…”

Spices and herbs as immune enhancers and anti-inflammatory agents: a review

“…Amin et al (2014) found that daily administration of 200 mg/kg of bodyweight saffron extracts reduced the concentration of pro-inflammatory IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α cytokines. A study by Faridi et al (2019) found that streptozocin-induced diabetic mice treated daily with 500 mg/kg of body weight for 3 weeks had decreased production of pro-inflammatory IL-17 cytokines and NO as well as increased levels of anti-inflammatory IL-10 and TGF-β cytokines in the pancreatic cells. An in vitro study using RAW 264.7 cells found that crocin has inhibitory activity on COX-1 and COX-2, with inhibition of COX-2 being greater than the NSAID indomethacin (Xu et al, 2009).…”

Saffron sebagai Terapi Adjuvant pada Komplikasi Vaskular Diabetes Melitus

“…Konsumsi 100 mg/hari crocus-sativus (saffron) selama 12 minggu menunjukkan penurunan serum konsentrasi sitokin pro-inflamasi seperti IL-17 pada pasien dengan sindrom metabolik (Faridi et al, 2019). Pengujian efek pemulungan radikal bebas ekstrak kelopak saffron dengan dosis 500, 1000 dan 1500 mg/kg selama 15 hari pada domba yang menggunakan metode uji pembersihan radikal 2,2difenil-1-picrylhydra-zyl (DPPH) menunjukkan bahwa kandungan anti-oksidan saffron dan konstituennya, safranal dan crocin, pada kelopak saffron bertambah di semua dosis (Azimi et al, 2014) (Hosseini et al, 2018) (Mashmoul et al, 2013.…”

“…Thelper (Th1) penghasil limfosit IFN-γ dan IL-17 juga secara efektif berpartisipasi dalam pathogenesis dari T1DM. Proses inflamasi pada tahap awal T1DM diprakarsai oleh IL-17 yang menyebabkan infiltrasi besarbesaran beberapa sel inflamasi ke dalam pankreas (Faridi et al, 2019…”