Crocin health benefit

Crocus Sativus, known as saffron spice, has crocin and safranal as active ingredients.

Crocus Sativus L. (Saffron) Extract and its Active Constituents (Crocin and Safranal) on Ischemia-Reperfusion in Rat Skeletal Muscle.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2007 Oct 25. Hosseinzadeh H, Modaghegh MH, Saffari Z. Pharmaceutical Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, 1365-91775, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, I. R. Iran.
Saffron and its constituents have been shown to decrease ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in kidney or brain tissues. In this study, the effects of saffron ethanolic extract and its constituents, crocin and safranal, were evaluated in skeletal muscle during I/R injury. Hind limb ischemia was induced using clamping the common femoral artery and vein. Following saffron, crocin and safranal administration, the total sulfhydryl contents and antioxidant capacity were elevated in muscle flap. It is concluded that saffron extract and its constituents crocin and safranal show a protective effect against lower limb I/R in rat.

Crocin from Crocus sativus possesses significant anti-proliferation effects on human colorectal cancer cells.
Exp Oncol. 2007 Sep;29(3): Aung HH, Wang CZ, Ni M, Fishbein A, Mehendale SR, Xie JT, Shoyama CY, Yuan CS. Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, The Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
To investigate the anti-proliferative effects of Crocus sativus extract and its major constituent, crocin, on three colorectal cancer cell lines (HCT-116, SW-480, and HT-29). The cell growth inhibition effect was compared to that of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. In addition, Crocus sativus' effect on non-cancer cells was evaluated. Data from this study demonstrated that Crocus sativus extract and its major constituent, crocin, significantly inhibited the growth of colorectal cancer cells while not affecting normal cells. Crocus sativus extract should be investigated further as a viable option in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

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