Moallem Seyed Adel, Afshar Mohammad, Etemad Leila, Razavi Bibi Marjan, Hosseinzadeh Hossein
Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Medical Toxicology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran Medical Toxicology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Toxicol Ind Health. 2016 Feb;32(2):285-91. doi: 10.1177/0748233713500818. Epub 2013 Oct 4.
Saffron (Crocus sativus) is a widely used food additive for its color and taste. Crocin and safranal are two main components of this plant. Numerous studies are underway to introduce saffron and its active ingredients as pharmacological agents. Safety assessments of these compounds are important parts of this endeavor. In this study, the effects of crocin and safranal administrations during embryogenesis have been investigated in mice. A total of 75 BALB/c pregnant mice were divided into six experimental and control groups. Four experimental groups received intraperitoneal injection of crocin (200 mg/kg or 600 mg/kg) daily or safranal (0.075 ml/kg or 0.225 ml/kg) on gestational days (GDs) 6 to 15. Control groups received normal saline or paraffin as solvents of crocin and safranal. Dams were dissected on GD18 and embryos were collected. Routine maternal and fetal parameters were recorded. Macroscopic observation of external malformations was also performed. Fetuses were then selected for double skeletal staining with alizarin red and alcian blue. All experimental groups caused significant decrease in length and weight of fetuses when compared with the control groups and revealed malformations such as minor skeletal malformations, mandible and calvaria malformations, and growth retardation. Minor skeletal malformations were the most commonly observed abnormality, which were statistically significant when compared with the control groups (p < 0.05). The severities of malformations were comparable in the crocin- and safranal-treated groups. This study suggests that crocin or safranal can induce embryonic malformations when administered in pregnant mice. Due to the wide use of saffron, further elaborate studies to understand the malformation mechanisms of these ingredients are recommended.
藏红花（番红花）因其颜色和味道而被广泛用作食品添加剂。藏红花素和藏红花醛是这种植物的两种主要成分。目前正在进行大量研究，以将藏红花及其活性成分作为药物制剂引入。这些化合物的安全性评估是这项工作的重要组成部分。在本研究中，已在小鼠胚胎发育过程中研究了藏红花素和藏红花醛给药的影响。总共75只BALB/c怀孕小鼠被分为六个实验组和对照组。四个实验组在妊娠第6至15天每天腹腔注射藏红花素（200mg/kg或600mg/kg）或藏红花醛（0.075ml/kg或0.225ml/kg）。对照组接受生理盐水或石蜡作为藏红花素和藏红花醛的溶剂。在妊娠第18天解剖母鼠并收集胚胎。记录常规的母体和胎儿参数。还对外部畸形进行了宏观观察。然后选择胎儿用茜素红和阿尔新蓝进行双重骨骼染色。与对照组相比，所有实验组均导致胎儿长度和体重显著降低，并显示出诸如轻微骨骼畸形、下颌骨和颅骨畸形以及生长迟缓等畸形。轻微骨骼畸形是最常见的异常情况，与对照组相比具有统计学意义（p<0.05）。藏红花素和藏红花醛治疗组的畸形严重程度相当。本研究表明，在怀孕小鼠中给药时，藏红花素或藏红花醛可诱导胚胎畸形。由于藏红花的广泛使用，建议进一步进行详细研究以了解这些成分的致畸机制。
