Department of Life and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University, Jdeidet P.O. Box 90656, Lebanon.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Kalhat, Al Kurah P.O. Box 100, Lebanon.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Oct 1;23(19):11600. doi: 10.3390/ijms231911600.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has the highest mortality rates worldwide, yet effective treatment remains unavailable. TBI causes inflammatory responses, endoplasmic reticulum stress, disruption of the blood-brain barrier and neurodegeneration that lead to loss of cognition, memory and motor skills. Saffron ( L.) is known for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects, which makes it a potential candidate for TBI treatment. Zebrafish () shares a high degree of genetic homology and cell signaling pathways with mammals. Its active neuro-regenerative function makes it an excellent model organism for TBI therapeutic drug identification. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of saffron administration to a TBI zebrafish model by investigating behavioral outcomes such as anxiety, fear and memory skills using a series of behavioral tests. Saffron exhibited anxiolytic effect on anxiety-like behaviors, and showed prevention of fear inhibition observed after TBI. It improved learning and enhanced memory performance. These results suggest that saffron could be a novel therapeutic enhancer for neural repair and regeneration of networks post-TBI.
创伤性脑损伤（TBI）是全球死亡率最高的疾病，但目前仍缺乏有效的治疗方法。TBI 会引起炎症反应、内质网应激、血脑屏障破坏和神经退行性变，导致认知、记忆和运动技能丧失。藏红花（ L.）以其抗炎和神经保护作用而闻名，这使其成为 TBI 治疗的潜在候选药物。斑马鱼（）与哺乳动物具有高度的遗传同源性和细胞信号通路。其活跃的神经再生功能使其成为 TBI 治疗药物鉴定的优秀模型生物。本研究的目的是通过一系列行为测试评估藏红花对 TBI 斑马鱼模型的治疗效果，如焦虑、恐惧和记忆能力等行为结果。藏红花对焦虑样行为具有抗焦虑作用，并可预防 TBI 后观察到的恐惧抑制。它可以改善学习和增强记忆表现。这些结果表明，藏红花可能成为 TBI 后神经修复和网络再生的新型治疗增强剂。
