New insights into the biological properties of Crocus sativus L.: chemical modifications, human monoamine oxidases inhibition and molecular modeling studies

Monte, Celeste De; Carradori, Simone; Chimenti, Paola; Secci, Daniela; Alcaro, Francesca; Petzer, Anél; N'Da, Clarina I.; Gidaro, Maria Concetta; Costa, Giosuè; Alcaro, Stefano; Petzer, Jacobus P.

doi:10.1016/j.ejmech.2014.05.048

Cited by 53 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Studies on the bioactive substances of saffron in depression indicate that the crocin acts by inhibiting the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmitters, while safranal inhibits the reuptake of serotonin. There are in vivo studies suggesting inhibitory effects on the monoamine oxidases, MAO-A and MAO-B, enzymes responsible for the degradation of the neurotransmitters, as mentioned above, leading to an increase in their levels in the synaptic space and reducing depressive symptoms [ 113 ].…”

Section: Therapeutic Properties Of Saffronmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2017

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The spice saffron is made from the dried stigmas of the plant Crocus sativus L. The main use of saffron is in cooking, due to its ability to impart colour, flavour and aroma to foods and beverages. However, from time immemorial it has also been considered a medicinal plant because it possesses therapeutic properties, as illustrated in paintings found on the island of Santorini, dated 1627 BC. It is included in Catalogues of Medicinal Plants and in the European Pharmacopoeias, being part of a great number of compounded formulas from the 16th to the 20th centuries. The medicinal and pharmaceutical uses of this plant largely disappeared with the advent of synthetic chemistry-produced drugs. However, in recent years there has been growing interest in demonstrating saffron’s already known bioactivity, which is attributed to the main components—crocetin and its glycosidic esters, called crocins, and safranal—and to the synergy between the compounds present in the spice. The objective of this work was to provide an updated and critical review of the research on the therapeutic properties of saffron, including activity on the nervous and cardiovascular systems, in the liver, its antidepressant, anxiolytic and antineoplastic properties, as well as its potential use as a functional food or nutraceutical.

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Section: Therapeutic Properties Of Saffronmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2017

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“…Crocins are powerful free radical quenchers and as such they have a variety of health benefits (Poma et al, 2012;Modabbernia & Akhondzadeh, 2013). Interest in the medical properties of saffron apocarotenoids, including crocetin and crocins, has gained renewed attention due to their ability to limit the proliferation of certain types of malignant cells (Abdullaev & Espinosa-Aguirre, 2004;Gutheil et al, 2012), their antidepressant (Lopresti & Drummond, 2014), and neuroprotective effects (De Monte et al, 2014). However, medical applications have been severely hampered by the high cost of production of these metabolites, because of the high labour costs in harvesting and processing the plant material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase CCD2 catalysing the synthesis of crocetin in spring crocuses and saffron is a plastidial enzyme

et al. 2015

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SummaryThe apocarotenoid crocetin and its glycosylated derivatives, crocins, confer the red colour to saffron. Crocetin biosynthesis in saffron is catalysed by the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase CCD2 (AIG94929). No homologues have been identified in other plant species due to the very limited presence of crocetin and its derivatives in the plant kingdom.Spring Crocus species with yellow flowers accumulate crocins in the stigma and tepals. Four carotenoid CCDs, namely CaCCD1, CaCCD2 and CaCCD4a/b and CaCCD4c were first cloned and characterized.CaCCD2 was localized in plastids, and a longer CCD2 version, CsCCD2L, was also localized in this compartment. The activity of CaCCD2 was assessed in Escherichia coli and in a stable rice gene function characterization system, demonstrating the production of crocetin in both systems. The expression of all isolated CCDs was evaluated in stigma and tepals at three key developmental stages in relation with apocarotenoid accumulation. CaCCD2 expression parallels crocin accumulation, but C14 apocarotenoids most likely are associated to the CaCCD1 activity in Crocus ancyrensis flowers.The specific CCD2 localization and its membrane interaction will contribute to the development of a better understanding of the mechanism of crocetin biosynthesis and regulation in the chromoplast.

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“…The spice is obtained from the dried stigmas of the plant, Crocus sativus L. (Iridaceae). It has recently gained interest as a potential source of pharmacologically bioactive compounds, such as crocetin, picrocrocin and safranal, see Figure 1 [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. This finding makes the spice a promising candidate for being a functional food.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Saffron Samples of Different Origin: An NMR Study of Microwave-Assisted Extracts

Sobolev

Carradori

Capitani

et al. 2014

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An NMR analytical protocol is proposed to characterize saffron samples of different geographical origin (Greece, Spain, Hungary, Turkey and Italy). A microwave-assisted extraction procedure was developed to obtain a comparable recovery of metabolites with respect to the ISO specifications, reducing the solvent volume and the extraction time needed. Metabolite profiles of geographically different saffron extracts were compared showing significant differences in the content of some metabolites.

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New insights into the biological properties of Crocus sativus L.: chemical modifications, human monoamine oxidases inhibition and molecular modeling studies

Cited by 53 publications

References 34 publications

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

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

The carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase CCD2 catalysing the synthesis of crocetin in spring crocuses and saffron is a plastidial enzyme

Saffron Samples of Different Origin: An NMR Study of Microwave-Assisted Extracts

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