ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT SAFFRON BENEFITS
Crocin one of the main active ingredients in saffron supports Healthy Aging and Quality of Life: A natural protector against Alzheimer’s and age-related diseases
Crocin has been identified the most important active constituent of saffron, as the best natural … anti-inflammatory agent .…
Dozens of clinical and hundreds of preclinical studies in recent years revealed crocin/saffron having significant effects to improve conditions in patients with Alzheimer’s, mild cognitive impairments, vascular dementia, age-related macular degenerative (AMD), stroke, depression, multiple sclerosis, and a few other diseases.
Crocin was recently reported to attenuate lung inflammation, pulmonary vascular dysfunction and associated pulmonary fibrosis, as well as alleviate acute respiratory distress syndrome in animal studies
Crocin has been reported in series of recent studies to suppress plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) activity to ameliorate thrombosis …, inhibit atheromatous plaque formation … and inhibits [sic] platelet aggregation
Crocin attenuates … inflammation, arrhythmias, injuries, and hemodynamic parameters from myocardial infraction and ischemic-reperfusion … Crocin is also revealed to attenuate myocardial fibrosis
A recent systemic review of meta-analysis of clinical evidence of saffron and crocin on cardiovascular risk factors has looked into 11 randomized clinical trials … Among these 11 trials of saffron and crocin, 6 evaluated effects of crocin (15-100mg/day) and demonstrate its significant effects on patients with Schizophrenia, diabetic macular edema, metabolic syndrome …, and coronary artery disease ….
A number of studies have demonstrated that crocin provides neuroprotective … anti-inflammatory, edema suppressive, and brain injury protective effects ….
Crocin as a natural neuroprotective agent could help reduce risk of stroke and improve recovery.
A 4-week double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled trial of crocin in multiple sclerosis patients … resulted in the following hightlights of the study:
Findings revealed a significant decrease in the level of important pathogenic factors in MS, including lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFa), and interleukin 17 (IL-17) … in the serum of patients treated with crocin (30mg/day) compared with the placebo group
Treatment of crocin in MS patients provided protection against oxidative and inflammation damage biomarkers during the disease process
The results suggest crocin as a promising therapeutic agent in prevention of progressive injury during MS
Crocin was found significantly improved… depression, anxiety, … in patients … who were under Methadone maintenance treatment.
Crocin was found to prevent generation of toxic amyloid peptides through inhibiting two key enzymes in Alzheimer Disease Neuronal Cell Culture Models
Crocin has been shown in at least 20 animal studies to improve memory deficits induced by amyloid and other drugs or toxins … Therefore, Crocin is considered as an effective option … against Alzheimer’s
Clinical studies of saffron and its main active constituent crocin in recent years suggested that supplementation with crocin or saffron may have positive effects on various vision-related parameters in adults with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, diabetic maculopathy, and Stargardt macular dystrophy.
Crocin (15 mg/day) significantly decreased central macula thickness and improved best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) or eyesight, in patients with diabetic macular edema after three months treatment. The crocin treatment also resulted in significant improvements in levels of fasting blood glucose and glycated haemoglobin A1c.
Crocin and saffron were also found to have inhibitory effects on cataract
Several preclinical studies have confirmed the antidepressant effects of crocin. Crocin was also demonstrated in animal studies to improve anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder and reduce stress-induced anorexia ....
Human studies in recent years further indicated that the antidepressant-like properties of saffron are primarily due to crocin. In a 4-week study, crocin (30mg/day) effects on depression were compared with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor drug (fluoxetine, sertraline, and citalopram) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot clinical trial. Results of this human study showed crocin significantly improved scores on BDI, BAI, and GHQ compared to the placebo group. The authors concluded crocin could be administered as an adjunctive treatment in major depressive disorder patients.
Yet in another 8-week randomized double-blind controlled clinical study, saffron aqueous extract (30mg/day) and crocin (30mg/day) was compared against placebo on health-related quality of life, depression, and sexual desire in coronary artery disease patients. Both saffron and crocin significantly improved depression and quality of life in these patients with CAD ....
Crocin also significantly improved International Index of Erectile Functions ....
Curcumin [an ingredient in the Crocin Rich Plus product] was reported to have the potential to ameliorate depressive symptoms
recent clinical findings suggests effects of Crocin … on visual acuity and eye functions in patients with AMD, glaucoma, diabetic maculopathy, etc.