Chemistry, Pharmacology and Medicinal Property of Saffron as A Viable Agent in the Treatment of Prostate, Pancreatic or Other Types of Cancer

Authors

  • Soheila Hamidpour

  • Mohsen Hamidpour

  • Mina Shahlari

  • Dr. Rafie Hamidpour

Keywords:

sage (salvia species), traditional remedies, pharmacological property

Abstract

Saffron is known as the majestic functional Natural Medicine, Saffron Extract is considered important for drug development, because they are reported to have Pharmacological activity in the Asia, Middle East especially China, Spain and India. For a long time Saffron has been used in traditional medicine for the relief of pain changing the mood and its use in cancer treatments, Saffron comes from the dried red stigmas of the Crocus sativus L. flower. Along with its use in cooking and in traditional medicine, it has numerous applications as an antitoxic, anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer agent, due to its secondary metabolites and their derivatives (safranal, crocins, crocetin, dymethylcrocetin). Data from this study will demonstrate that Crocus sativus extract (CSE) and its major constituents, crocin and crocetin significantly inhibited the growth of certain cancer cells while not effecting normal cells. Crocus sativus L. extract should be investigated further as a viable agent in the treatment of prostate, pancreatic or other types of cancer. This article presents comprehensive analysis information on botanical, chemical and Pharmacological aspect of Saffron.

How to Cite

Chemistry, Pharmacology and Medicinal Property of Saffron as A Viable Agent in the Treatment of Prostate, Pancreatic or Other Types of Cancer. (2013). Global Journal of Medical Research, 13(24), 11-17. https://medicalresearchjournal.org/index.php/GJMR/article/view/

Author Biographies

Soheila Hamidpour

Dr. Rafie Hamidpour is a distinguished researcher and professor in the field of biomedical sciences, with a particular focus on the chemistry, pharmacology, and medicinal properties of natural compounds. He earned his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Bradford in 2003 and holds a doctorate in Biomedical/Bioscience from the University of Central Missouri. Dr. Hamidpour has served as a Professor at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, in the Department of Hematology and Blood Banking from 1990 to 2024. He is the founder and lead researcher at Pars Bioscience LLC, a research center based in Leawood, Kansas, where he investigates traditional remedies and their modern phytotherapeutic applications. His notable works include comprehensive studies on the medicinal properties of camphor, sage, frankincense, and Rhodiola rosea, exploring their potential in treating a wide range of diseases from cancer to metabolic disorders. With over 45 publications and more than 1,100 citations, Dr. Hamidpour's research bridges traditional knowledge with contemporary scientific validation, contributing significantly to the field of phytotherapy and drug targeting in cancer.

Dr. Rafie Hamidpour

Dr. Rafie Hamidpour is a distinguished researcher and professor in the field of biomedical sciences, with a particular focus on the chemistry, pharmacology, and medicinal properties of natural compounds. He earned his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Bradford in 2003 and holds a doctorate in Biomedical/Bioscience from the University of Central Missouri. Dr. Hamidpour has served as a Professor at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, in the Department of Hematology and Blood Banking from 1990 to 2024. He is the founder and lead researcher at Pars Bioscience LLC, a research center based in Leawood, Kansas, where he investigates traditional remedies and their modern phytotherapeutic applications. His notable works include comprehensive studies on the medicinal properties of camphor, sage, frankincense, and Rhodiola rosea, exploring their potential in treating a wide range of diseases from cancer to metabolic disorders. With over 45 publications and more than 1,100 citations, Dr. Hamidpour's research bridges traditional knowledge with contemporary scientific validation, contributing significantly to the field of phytotherapy and drug targeting in cancer.

References

M. Afshari, S. Bathaie, M. Taghikhani, A. Moosavi- Movahedi (2005) The Effect of Carotenoids Obtained From Saffron on Histone H1 Structure and H1-DNA Interaction. 36, 246-252.

F. Abdullaev (2002) Cancer Chemopreventive and Tumoricidal Properties of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Exp Biol. 227(1), 20-25.

F. Abdullaev, J. Espinosa-Aguirre (2004) Biomedical properties of saffron and its potential use in cancer therapy and chemoprevention trials. 28(6), 426-432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdp.2004.09.002

F. Abdullaev, G. Frenkel (1992) The Effect of Saffron on Intracellular DNA, RNA and Protein Synthesis in Malignant and Non-malignant Human Cells. 4(1), 43-45.

A. Assimopoulou, Z. Sinakos, V. Papageorgiou (2005) Radical Scavenging Activity of Crocus Sativus L. Extract and Its Bioactive Constituents. 19(11), 997-1000. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.1749

H. Aung, C. Wang, M. Ni, A. Fishbein, S. Mehendale, J. Xie (2007) Crocin from Crocus sativus Processes Significant Antiproliferation Effects on Human Colorectal Cancer Cells. 29(3), 175-180.

Heriberto Caballero-Ortega, Rogelio Pereda-Miranda, Fikrat Abdullaev (2007) HPLC quantification of major active components from 11 different saffron (Crocus sativus L.) sources. 100(3), 1126-1131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.11.020

P. Cordopatis (2007) Chryssanthi, D.G., Lamari, F.N., Iatrou, G., Pylara, A., Karamanos, N.K., 2007. 27, 357-362.

J. Escribano, G. Alonso, M. Coca-Prados, J. Fernandez (1996) Crocin, safranal and picrocrocin from saffron (Crocus sativus L.) inhibit the growth of human cancer cells in vitro. 100(1-2), 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3835(95)04067-6

J. Grainer, D. Wallis, J. Jones (1976) The Effect of Crocetin on Skin Papillomas and Rous Sarcoma.Oncology. 33, 222-224. https://doi.org/10.1159/000225150

Hossein Hosseinzadeh, Hamid Sadeghnia (2007) Effect of Safranal, a Constituent of Crocus sativus (Saffron), on Methyl Methanesulfonate (MMS)-Induced DNA Damage in Mouse Organs: An Alkaline Single-Cell Gel Electrophoresis (Comet) Assay. 26(12), 841-846. https://doi.org/10.1089/dna.2007.0631

F. Jafarova, H. Caballero-Ortega, L. Riveron- Negrete, R. Pereda-Miranda, R. Rivera-Luna, J. Hernandez (2002) Evaluation In Vitro of Chemopreventive Potential of Saffron. 54, 430-436.

Charalabos Kanakis, Petros Tarantilis, Heidar-Ali Tajmir-Riahi, Moschos Polissiou (2007) DNA Interaction with Saffron's Secondary Metabolites Safranal, Crocetin, and Dimethylcrocetin. 26(1), 63-70. https://doi.org/10.1089/dna.2006.0529

Charalabos Kanakis, Petros Tarantilis, Heidar-Ali Tajmir-Riahi, Moschos Polissiou (2007) Interaction of tRNA with Safranal, Crocetin, and Dimethylcrocetin. 24(6), 537-545. https://doi.org/10.1080/07391102.2007.10507142

T. Konoshima, M. Takasaki, H. Tokuda, S. Morimoto, H. Tanaka, E. Kawata, et al (1998) Crocin and crocetin derivatives inhibit skin tumour promotion in mice. 12(6), 400-404. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-1573(199809)12:6

Na Li, Ge Lin, Yiu-Wa Kwan, Zhi-Da Min (1999) Simultaneous Quantification of Five Major Biologically Active Ingredients of Saffron by High-performance Liquid Chromatography. J. Chrom. 849(2), 349-355. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0021-9673(99)00600-7

Venkatraman Magesh, Jayapal Singh, Karupaya Selvendiran, Ganapathy Ekambaram, Dhanapal Sakthisekaran (2006) Antitumour activity of crocetin in accordance to tumor incidence, antioxidant status, drug metabolizing enzymes and histopathological studies. 287(1-2), 127-135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-005-9088-0

S. Nair, B. Pannikar, K. Panikkar (1991) Antitumour activity of saffron (Crocus sativus). 57(2), 109-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3835(91)90203-t

K. Peter (2000) Saffron. Handbook of Herbs and Spices. 276-286.

K. Premkumar, C. Thirunavukkarasu, S. Abraham, S. Santhiya, A. Ramesh (2006) Protective effect of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) aqueous extract against genetic damage induced by anti-tumor agents in mice. 25(2), 79-84. https://doi.org/10.1191/0960327106ht589oa

M. Salomi, Satish Nair, K. Panikkar (1991) Inhibitory effects ofNigella sativaand saffron (crocus sativus) on chemical carcinogenesis in mice. 16(1), 67-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/01635589109514142

A. Sanchez, M. Carmona, A. Zalacain, J. Carot, J. Jabaloyes, G. Alonso (2008) Rapid Determination of Crocetin Esters and Picrocrocin from Saffron Spice (Crocus sativus L.) Using UV- Visible Spectrophotometry for Quality Control J Agric. 56(9), 3167-3175. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf703725e

Mathias Schmidt, Georges Betti, Andreas Hensel (2007) Saffron in phytotherapy: Pharmacology and clinical uses. 157(13-14), 315-319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-007-0428-4

Y. Surh, H. Na, H. Lee (2005) Chemopreventive Effects of Selected Spice Ingredients. 575-598.

Petros Tarantilis, Moschos Polissiou, Michel Manfait (1994) Separation of Picrocrocin, Cis-trans-crocins and Safranal of Saffron Using High-performance Liquid Chromatography with Photodiode-array Detection J Chrom. 664(1), 55-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9673(94)80628-4

S. Verma, A. Bordia (1998) Antioxidant Property of Saffron in Man. 52(5), 205-207.

Chemistry, Pharmacology and Medicinal Property of Sage as a Viable Agent in the Treatment of Prostate, Pancreatic or other Types of Cancer

Published

2013-09-12

How to Cite

Chemistry, Pharmacology and Medicinal Property of Saffron as A Viable Agent in the Treatment of Prostate, Pancreatic or Other Types of Cancer. (2013). Global Journal of Medical Research, 13(24), 11-17. https://medicalresearchjournal.org/index.php/GJMR/article/view/