Moradzadeh Maliheh, Sadeghnia Hamid Reza, Tabarraei Alijan, Sahebkar Amirhossein
Faculty of Medicine, Department of New Sciences and Technology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Neurocognitive Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
J Cell Physiol. 2018 Mar;233(3):2170-2182. doi: 10.1002/jcp.25953. Epub 2017 Jun 7.
Natural products have gained a wide popularity as chemopreventive and anti-cancer agents owing to their multi-mechanistic mode of action, availability and synergism with several conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Crocetin is a carotenoid compound isolated from the stigma of Crocus sativus L. (saffron). Crocetin has shown promising effects as an anti-tumor agent in animal models and cell culture systems. Crocetin retards the growth of cancer cells via inhibiting nucleic acid synthesis, enhancing anti-oxidative system, and inducing apoptosis and differentiation pathways. The present review outlines natural sources of crocetin, and its pharmacokinetic and pharmacological properties relevant to the prevention and treatment of cancer. Also, we discuss molecular targets underlying the putative anti-tumor effects of crocetin.
天然产物因其多机制作用模式、可得性以及与多种传统化疗药物的协同作用，作为化学预防剂和抗癌剂而广受欢迎。藏红花素是一种从番红花（藏红花）柱头中分离出的类胡萝卜素化合物。在动物模型和细胞培养系统中，藏红花素作为一种抗肿瘤剂已显示出有前景的效果。藏红花素通过抑制核酸合成、增强抗氧化系统以及诱导凋亡和分化途径来延缓癌细胞的生长。本综述概述了藏红花素的天然来源及其与癌症预防和治疗相关的药代动力学和药理学特性。此外，我们还讨论了藏红花素假定的抗肿瘤作用的分子靶点。
