Safranal Explained

Safranal is an organic compound isolated from saffron, the spice consisting of the stigmas of crocus flowers (Crocus sativus). It is the constituent primarily responsible for the aroma of saffron.

It is believed that safranal is a degradation product of the carotenoid zeaxanthin via the intermediate picrocrocin.

Pharmacology

Safranal is an effective anticonvulsant in animal models, shown to act as an agonist at GABAA receptors.[1] [2] Safranal also exhibits high antioxidant activity,[3] [4] along with cytotoxicity towards cancer cells in vitro.[5] One of its anticancer mechanisms of action involves disruption of the normal assembly dynamics of cellular microtubules.[6] It has also been shown to have antidepressant properties in animals and pilot studies in humans.[7] [8]

Natural sources

Natural sources of safranal include:[9]

Notes and References

  1. Hosseinzadeh H . Talebzadeh F . Anticonvulsant evaluation of safranal and crocin from Crocus sativus in mice . Fitoterapia . 76 . 7–8 . 722–4 . December 2005 . 16253437 . 10.1016/j.fitote.2005.07.008.
  2. Hosseinzadeh H . Sadeghnia HR . Protective effect of safranal on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures in the rat: involvement of GABAergic and opioids systems . Phytomedicine . 14 . 4 . 256–62 . April 2007 . 16707256 . 10.1016/j.phymed.2006.03.007.
  3. Hosseinzadeh H . Sadeghnia HR . Safranal, a constituent of Crocus sativus (saffron), attenuated cerebral ischemia induced oxidative damage in rat hippocampus . Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences . 8 . 3 . 394–9 . 2005 . 16401389 .
  4. Assimopoulou AN . Sinakos Z . Papageorgiou VP . Radical scavenging activity of Crocus sativus L. extract and its bioactive constituents . Phytotherapy Research . 19 . 11 . 997–1000 . November 2005 . 16317646 . 10.1002/ptr.1749. 23907085 .
  5. Escribano J . Alonso GL . Coca-Prados M . Fernandez JA . Crocin, safranal and picrocrocin from saffron (Crocus sativus L.) inhibit the growth of human cancer cells in vitro . Cancer Letters . 100 . 1–2 . 23–30 . February 1996 . 8620447 . 10.1016/0304-3835(95)04067-6. free .
  6. Cheriyamundath S, Choudhary S, and Lopus M (2017) Safranal inhibits HeLa cell viability by perturbing the reassembly potential of microtubules. Phytother Res, 32, 170-173. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5938.
  7. Hosseinzadeh H . Karimi G . Niapoor M . 2004 . Antidepressant effect of Crocus sativus L. stigma extracts and their constituents, crocin and safranal, in mice . Acta Horticulturae . 650 . 650 . 435–45 . 10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.650.54 .
  8. Akhondzadeh S . Fallah-Pour H . Afkham K . Jamshidi AH . Khalighi-Cigaroudi F . Comparison of Crocus sativus L. and imipramine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: A pilot double-blind randomized trial ISRCTN45683816 . BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine . 4. 12 . September 2004 . 15341662 . 517724 . 10.1186/1472-6882-4-12 . free .
  9. Web site: List of Chemicals. sun.ars-grin.gov. 2008-03-02.
  10. Yan JH . Tang KW . Zhong M . Deng NH . [Determination of chemical components of volatile oil from Cuminum cyminum L. by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry] . zh . Se Pu . 20 . 6 . 569–72 . November 2002 . 12683011.
  11. Ramin Rezaee . Hossein Hosseinzadeh . [Safranal: From an Aromatic Natural Product to a Rewarding Pharmacological Agent] . Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences . 16 . 12–26 . January 2013 . 3637901 . 23638289 . 1.

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