Title:Antioxidant Properties of Crocus Sativus L. and Its Constituents and Relevance to Neurodegenerative Diseases; Focus on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease
Volume: 17
Issue: 4
Author(s): Kyriaki Hatziagapiou*, Eleni Kakouri, George I. Lambrou*, Kostas Bethanis and Petros A. Tarantilis
Affiliation:
- First Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Choremeio Research Laboratory, Hematology/Oncology Unit, Athens,Greece
- First Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Choremeio Research Laboratory, Hematology/Oncology Unit, Athens,Greece
Keywords:
Saffron, crocin, crocetin, safranal, oxidative stress, neurodegeneration, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson's disease.
Abstract: Background: Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species, which are collectively
called reactive oxygen-nitrogen species, are the inevitable by-products of cellular metabolic
redox reactions, such as oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, phagocytosis,
reactions of biotransformation of exogenous and endogenous substrata in endoplasmic
reticulum, eicosanoid synthesis, and redox reactions in the presence of metal with variable valence.
Among medicinal plants, there is growing interest in Crocus Sativus L. It is a perennial, stemless
herb, belonging to Iridaceae family, cultivated in various countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain,
Israel, Morocco, Turkey, Iran, India, China, Egypt and Mexico.
Objective: The present study aims to address the protective role of Crocus Sativus L. in neurodegeneration
with an emphasis in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
Materials and Methods: An electronic literature search was conducted by two of the authors from
1993 to August 2017. Original articles and systematic reviews (with or without meta-analysis), as
well as case reports were selected. Titles and abstracts of papers were screened by a third reviewer
to determine whether they met the eligibility criteria, and full texts of the selected articles were
retrieved.
Results: Hence, the authors focused on the literature concerning the role of Crocus Sativus L. on
its anti-oxidant and neuroprotective properties.
Conclusion: Literature findings represented in current review herald promising results for using
Crocus Sativus L. and/or its active constituents as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective
agents.