Finley John W, Gao Song
Adjunct Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, 111 Food Science Building, Louisiana State University , Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, United States.
14719 Secret Harbor Place, Bradenton, Florida 34202, United States.
J Agric Food Chem. 2017 Feb 8;65(5):1005-1020. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b04398. Epub 2017 Jan 31.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline. Several factors are thought to play roles in the development and course of AD. Existing medical therapies only modestly alleviate and delay cognitive symptoms. Current research has been focused on developing antibodies to remove the aggregates of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau protein. This approach has achieved removal of Aβ; however, no cognitive improvement in AD patients has been reported. The biological properties of saffron, the dry stigma of the plant Crocus sativus L., and particularly its main constituent crocin, have been studied extensively for many conditions including dementia and traumatic brain injury. Crocin is a unique antioxidant because it is a water-soluble carotenoid. Crocin has shown potential to improve learning and memory as well as protect brain cells. A search of the studies on saffron and crocin that have been published in recent years for their impact on AD as well as crocin's effects on Aβ and tau protein has been conducted. This review demonstrates that crocin exhibits multifunctional protective activities in the brain and could be a promising agent applied as a supplement or drug for prevention or treatment of AD.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）是最常见的痴呆形式，其中脑细胞死亡导致记忆丧失和认知能力下降。几种因素被认为在AD的发展和病程中起作用。现有的医学疗法只能适度缓解和延缓认知症状。目前的研究集中在开发抗体以清除淀粉样β蛋白（Aβ）和tau蛋白的聚集体。这种方法已实现了Aβ的清除；然而，尚未有AD患者认知改善的报道。藏红花，即番红花属植物番红花（Crocus sativus L.）的干燥柱头，其生物学特性，特别是其主要成分藏红花素，已针对包括痴呆和创伤性脑损伤在内的多种病症进行了广泛研究。藏红花素是一种独特的抗氧化剂，因为它是一种水溶性类胡萝卜素。藏红花素已显示出改善学习和记忆以及保护脑细胞的潜力。我们检索了近年来发表的关于藏红花和藏红花素对AD的影响以及藏红花素对Aβ和tau蛋白作用的研究。这篇综述表明，藏红花素在大脑中具有多功能保护活性，可能是一种有前景的预防或治疗AD的补充剂或药物。
