Avicenna's (Ibn Sina) the canon of medicine and saffron (Crocus sativus): A review

Phytotherapy Research

Volumn 27, Issue 4, 2013, Pages 475-483

  Hosseinzadeh, Hossein ^a   Nassiri Asl, Marjan ^b  

^a MASHHAD UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES   (Iran)

^b QAZVIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES   (Iran)

Author keywords

Avicenna; Canon of Medicine; Crocus sativus L; saffron

Indexed keywords

APHRODIT; CROCETIN; CROCUS SATIVUS EXTRACT; FLUOXETINE; IMIPRAMINE; KAEMPFEROL; PLACEBO; SAFRAMYL; SATIEREAL; UNCLASSIFIED DRUG;

ABSCESS; ANESTHETIC ACTIVITY; ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY; ANTIDEPRESSANT ACTIVITY; ANTIINFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY; ANTINEOPLASTIC ACTIVITY; ANTINOCICEPTION; ASTHENOPIA; BRONCHODILATATION; COSMETIC ACTIVITY; DEPRESSION; DRUG ACTIVITY; ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION; ERYSIPELAS; GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT; GINGIVITIS; HUMAN; HYPNOSIS; INFLAMMATION; LIVER; LOW BACK PAIN; NEUROPATHIC PAIN; NONHUMAN; PREMATURE EJACULATION; PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME; RETINA INJURY; REVIEW; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR; SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION; TOXICITY; TRANQUILIZING ACTIVITY; UNSPECIFIED SIDE EFFECT; WOUND;

CAROTENOIDS; COSMETICS; CROCUS; CYCLOHEXENES; HERBAL MEDICINE; HISTORY, MEDIEVAL; INCUNABULA AS TOPIC; PLANT EXTRACTS; TERPENES;

CROCUS SATIVUS; SCOPUS;

EID: 84876290925     PISSN: 0951418X     EISSN: 10991573     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/ptr.4784     Document Type: Review

References (90)

1. Abdullaev FI, Espinosa-Aguirre JJ,. 2004. Biomedical properties of saffron and its potential use in cancer therapy and chemoprevention trials. Cancer Detec Prevent 28: 426-432.
2. Afshar A,. 2010. Honoring Avicenna, the great Persian physician on the world's postage stamps. Arch Iran Med 13: 447-53.
3. Agha-Hosseini M, Kashani L, Aleyaseen A, et al,. 2008. Crocus sativus L. (saffron) in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome: a double-blind, randomised and placebo-controlled trial. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 115: 515-519.
4. Akhondzadeh Basti A, Moshiri E, Noorbala AA, Jamshidi AH, Abbasi SH, Akhondzadeh S,. 2007. Comparison of petal of Crocus sativus L. and fluoxetine in the treatment of depressed outpatients: A pilot double-blind randomized trial. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 31: 439-442.
5. Akhondzadeh S, Fallah-Pour H, Afkham K, Jamshidi AH, Khalighi-Cigaroudi F,. 2004. Comparison of Crocus sativus L. and imipramine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: A pilot double-blind randomized trial [ISRCTN45683816]. BMC Complement. Altern Med 4: 12.
6. Akhondzadeh S, Tahmacebi-Pour N, Noorbala AA, et al,. 2005. Crocus sativus L. in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized and placebo controlled trial. Phytother Res 19: 25-9.
7. Al-Mofleh IA, Alhaider AA, Mossa JS, Al-Sohaibani MO, Qureshi S, Rafatullah S,. 2006. Antigastric Ulcer Studies on 'Saffron' Crocus sativus L. in Rats. Pakistan J Biol Sci 9: 1009-1013.
8. Amin B, Hosseinzadeh H,. 2012. Evaluation of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of saffron, Crocus sativus L., and its constituents, safranal and crocin in allodynia and hyperalgesia induced by chronic constriction injury model of neuropathic pain in rats. Fitoterapia 83: 888-95
9. Anonymous. 1998. Al-Qanun fil-Tibb, (English Translation) Book, (original Author-Avicenna), Vol: 2. Department of Islamic Studies: New Delhi, Jamia Hamdard; 242-242.
10. Anonymous. 1999. Al-Qanun fil-Tibb, (Arabic) Book, (original Author-Avicenna), Vol: 1. Al-kotob Al-ilmiyah Publication: Lebanon; 464.
11. Bathaie SZ, Mousavi SZ,. 2010. New applications and mechanisms of action of saffron and its important ingredients. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 50: 761-86.
12. Bhargava VK,. 2011. Medicinal uses and pharmacological properties of crocus sativus Linn. (saffron). Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 3: 22-26.
13. Boskabady MH, Aslani MR,. 2006. Relaxant effect of Crocus sativus (saffron) on guinea-pig tracheal chains and its possible mechanisms. J Pharm Pharmacol 58: 1385-1390.
14. De Vos P,. 2010. European materia medica in historical texts: longevity of a tradition and implications for future use. J Ethnopharmacol 132: 28-47.
15. Dunn PM,. 1997. Avicenna (AD 980-1037) and Arabic perinatal medicine. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 77: F75-76.
16. Escribano J, Alonso GL, Coca-Prados M, Fernandez JA,. 1996. Crocin, safranal and picrocrocin from saffron (Crocus sativus L.) inhibit the growth of human cancer cells in vitro. Cancer Lett 100: 23-30.
17. Falsini B, Piccardi M, Minnella A, et al,. 2010 Influence of saffron supplementation on retinal flicker sensitivity in early age-related macular degeneration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 51: 6118-6124.
18. Fukui H, Toyoshima K, Komaki R,. 2011. Psychological and neuroendocrinological effects of odor of saffron (Crocus sativus). Phytomedicine 18: 726-730.
19. Golmohammadzadeh S, Jaafari MR, Hosseinzadeh H,. 2010a. Does saffron have antisolar and moisturing effect? Iran J Pharm Res 9: 133-140.
20. Golmohammadzadeh S, Jaafari MR, Hosseinzadeh H, Imani F,. 2010b. Determination of properties and evaluation of sun protective effects of saffron and safranal nanoliposomes. [Article in Persian]. Dermatol Cosmet 1: 20-27.
21. Gout B, Bourges C, Paineau-Dubreuil S,. 2010. Satiereal, a Crocus sativus L extract, reduces snacking and increases satiety in a randomized placebo-controlled study of mildly overweight, healthy women. Nut Res 30: 305-313.
22. Gresta F, Lombardo GM, Siracusa, L, Ruberto G,. 2008. Saffron, an alternative crop for sustainable agricultural systems, a review. Agron Sustain Dev 28: 95-112
23. Javadi B, Emami A,. 2003. Investigation on saffron in main Islamic medicine books. Proceedings of the 3rd National Symposium on Saffron. Ferdowsi University Publication, Mashhad, 200-211.
24. Hariri AT, Moallem SA, Mahmoudi M, Hosseinzadeh H,. 2011. The effect of crocin and safranal, constituents of saffron, against subacute effect of diazinon on hematological and genotoxicity indices in rats. Phytomedicine 18: 499-504.
25. Hariri AT, Moallem SA, Mahmoudi M, Memar B, Hosseinzadeh H,. 2010. Sub-acute effects of diazinon on biochemical indices and specific biomarkers in rats: protective effects of crocin and safranal. Food Chem Toxicol 48: 2803-8.
26. Heidary M, Vahhabi S, Reza Nejadi J, et al,. 2008. Effect of saffron on semen parameters of infertile men. Urol J 5: 255-259.
27. Heinrich M, Kufer J, Leonti M, Pardo-de-Santayana M,. 2006. Ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology-interdisciplinary links with the historical sciences. J Ethnopharmacol 107: 157-160.
28. Holloway GM, Gainer JL,. 1988. The carotenoid crocetin enhances pulmonary oxygenation. J Appl Physiol 65: 683-686.
29. Hosseinzadeh H, Abootorabi A, Sadeghnia HR,. 2008a. Protective effect of Crocus sativus stigma extract and crocin (trans-crocin 4) on methyl methanesulfonate-induced DNA damage in mice organs. DNA Cell Biol 27: 657-664.
30. Hosseinzadeh H, Karimi G, Niapoor M,. 2004. Antidepressant effect of Crocus sativus L. stigma extracts and their constituents, crocin and safranal, in mice. Acta Horticul 650: 435-445.
31. Hosseinzadeh H, Motamedshariaty V, Hadizadeh F,. 2007. Antidepressant effect of kampferol, a constituent of saffron (Crocus sativus) petal, in mice and rats. Pharmacologyonline 2: 367-370.
32. Hosseinzadeh H, Noraei NB,. 2009. Anxiolytic and hypnotic effect of Crocus sativus aqueous extract and its constituents, crocin and safranal, in mice. Phytoter Res 23: 768-774.
33. Hosseinzadeh H, Sadeghnia HR,. 2005. Safranal, a constituent of Crocus sativus (saffron), attenuated cerebral ischemia induced oxidative damage in rat hippocampus. J Pharm Pharm Sci 8: 394-399.
34. Hosseinzadeh H, Sadeghnia HR,. 2007a. Effect of safranal, a constituent of Crocus sativus (saffron), on methyl methanesulfonate (MMS)-induced DNA damage in mouse organs: an alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay. DNA Cell Biol 26: 841-846.
35. Hosseinzadeh H, Sadeghnia HR, Ziaee T, Danaee A,. 2005. Protective effect of aqueous saffron extract (Crocus sativus L.) and crocin, its active constituent, on renal ischemia-reperfusion-induced oxidative damage in rats. J Pharm Pharmacol Sci 8: 387-393.
36. Hosseinzadeh H, Sadeghnia H-R,. 2007b. Protective effect of safranal, an active constituent of Crocus sativus, on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures in the rat: Involvement of GABAergic and opioids systems. Phytomedicine 14: 256-262.
37. Hosseinzadeh H, Shariaty VM,. 2007. Anti-nociceptive effect of safranal, a constituent of Crocus sativus (saffron), in mice. Pharmacologyonline 2: 498-503.
38. Hosseinzadeh H, Talebzadeh F,. 2005. Anticonvulsant evaluation of safranal and crocin from Crocus sativus in mice. Fitoterapia 76: 722-724.
39. Hosseinzadeh H, Younesi HM,. 2002. Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of Crocus sativus L. stigma and petal extracts in mice. BMC Pharmacol 2: 7.
40. Hosseinzadeh H, Ziaee T, Sadeghi A,. 2008b. The effect of saffron, Crocus sativus stigma, extract and its constituents, safranal and crocin on sexual behaviors in normal male rats. Phytomedicine 15: 491-495.
41. Hosseinzadeh H, Modaghegh MH, Saffari Z,. 2009. Crocus sativus L. (saffron) extract and its active constituents (crocin and safranal) on ischemia-reperfusion in rat skeletal muscle. eCAM 6: 343-350.
42. Hulse J,. 2007. Sustainable development at risk: ignoring the past. Cambridge University Press India Pvt. Ltd: New Delhi; 186.
43. John P, Melnyk JP, Wang SN, Marcone MF,. 2010. Chemical and biological properties of the world's most expensive spice saffron. Food Res Int 43: 1981-1989.
44. Kajita M, Umigai N, Nakano T, Amano H, Takeno R, Kajimoto O,. 2007. Effect on asthenopia of high-crocetin-content Gardenia Jasminoides Ellis extraction. Jpn J Visual Sci 28: 77-84 (in Japanese).
45. Karimi G, Hosseinzadeh H, Khaleghpanah P,. 2001. Study of antidepressant effect of aqueous and ethanolic extract of Crocus sativus in mice. Iran J Basic Med Sci 4: 11-15.
46. Kianbakht S, Mozaffari K,. 2009. Effects of saffron and its active constituents, crocin and safranal on prevention of indomethacin induced gastric ulcers in diabetic and nondiabetic rats. J Med Plants 8: 30-38.
47. Leonti M,. 2011. The future is written: impact of scripts on the cognition, selection, knowledge and transmission of medicinal plant use and its implications for ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology. J Ethnopharmacol 134: 542-555.
48. Leonti M, Cabras S, Weckerle CS, Solinas MN, Casu L,. 2010. The causal dependence of present plant knowledge on herbals - contemporary medicinal plant use in Campania (Italy) compared to Matthioli (1568). J Ethnopharmacol 130: 379-391.
49. Lin JK, Wang CJ,. 1986. Protection of crocin dyes on the acute hepatic damage induced by aflatoxin B1 and dimethylnitrosamine in rats. Carcinogenesis 7: 595-599.
50. Madineh SM,. 2008. Avicenna's Canon of Medicine and Modern Urology: part I: bladder and its diseases. Urol J 5: 284-293.
51. Magner LN,. 2005. A History of Medicine. Taylor & Francis Group: London, Chp. 5; 135-195.
52. Mehri M, Abnous K, Mousavi SH, Shariaty VM, Hosseinzadeh H,. 2012. Neuroprotective effect of crocin on acrylamide-induced cytotoxicity in PC 12 cells. Cell Mol Neurobiol 32: 227-235.
53. Melnyk JP, Wang SN, Marcone MF,. 2010. Chemical and biological properties of the world's most expensive spice saffron. Food Res Int 43: 1981-1989.
54. Modaghegh MH, Shahabian M, Esmaeili HA, Rajbai O, Hosseinzadeh H,. 2008. Safety evaluation of saffron (Crocus sativus) tablets in healthy volunteers. Phytomedicine 15: 1032-1037.
55. Moshiri E, Akhondzadeh Basti A, Noorbala AA, Jamshidi AH, Abbasi SH, Akhondzadeh S,. 2006. Crocus sativus L. (petal) in the treatment of mild-to-moderate depression: A double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial. Phytomedicine 13: 607-611.
56. Motamedi H, Darabpour E, Gholipour M, Seyyed Nejad SM,. 2010. In vitro assay for the anti-Brucella activity of medicinal plants against tetracycline-resistant Brucella melitensis. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B 11: 506-11.
57. Mousavi SZ, Bathaei SZ,. 2011. Historical uses of saffron: identifying potential new avenues for modern research. Avicenna J Phytomed 1: 57-66.
58. Nabavizadeh F, Salimi E, Sadroleslami Z, Karimian SM, Vahedian J,. 2009. Saffron (Crocus sativus) increases gastric acid and pepsin secretions in rats: Role of nitric oxide (NO). African J Pharm Pharmacol 3: 181-184.
59. Najjar J,. 2010. From anesthetic sponge to nonsinking skull perforator, unitary work neurosurgery in the ancient Arabic and Islamic world. World Neurosurg 73: 587-594.
60. Namazi MR,. 2001. Avicenna, 980-1037. Am J Psychiat 158: 1796.
61. Nemati H, Boskabady MH, Ahmadzadef Vostakolaei H,. 2008. Stimulatory effect of Crocus sativus (saffron) on β2-adrenoceptors of guinea pig tracheal chains. Phytomedicine 15: 1038-1045.
62. Neamati N, Boskabady MH,. 2010. Effect of Crocus sativus (saffron) on muscarinic receptors of guinea pig tracheal chains. Func Plant Sci Biotec 4: 128-131.
63. Noorbala AA, Akhondzadeh S, Tamacebi-Pour N, Jamshidi AH,. 2005. Hydroalcoholic extract of Crocus sativus L. versus fluoxetine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot trial. J Ethnopharmacol 97: 281-284.
64. Osbaldeston TA, Wood RPA,. 2000. Dioscorides, De Materia Medica. IBIDIS Press: Johannesburg, South Africa, Vol. one; 29-30.
65. Phillips H,. 2010. History of cultivated vegetables: comprising their botanical, medicinal, edible, and chemical qualities; natural history; and relation to art, science, and commerce, 2ndedn, Henry Colburn and Co.: London, Volume 2; 180-201.
66. Pintado C, de Miguel A, Acevedo O, Nozal L, Novella JL, Rotger R,. 2010. Bactericidal effect of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) on Salmonella enterica during storage. Food Control 22: 638-642.
67. Premkumar K, Abraham SK, Santhiva ST, Gopinath PM, Ramesh A,. 2001. Inhibition of geneotoxicity by saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in mice. Drug Chem Toxicol 24: 421-428.
68. Raza M,. 2006. A role for physicians in ethnopharmacology and drug discovery. J Ethnopharmacol 104: 297-301.
69. Ríos JL, Recio MC, Giner RM, Máňez S,. 1996. An update review of saffron and its active constituents. Phytother Res 10: 189-193.
70. Rogers K,. 2010. The 100 Most Influential Scientists of All Time (The Britannica Guide to the World's Most Influential People. Britannica Educational Publishing: New York; 36-37.
71. Safarinejad MR, Shafiei N, Safarinejad S,. 2010. An open label, randomized, fixed-dose, crossover study comparing efficacy and safety of sildenafil citrate and saffron (Crocus sativus Linn.) for treating erectile dysfunction in men naïve to treatment. Int J Impot Res 22: 240-250.
72. Schmidt M, Betti G, Hensel A,. 2007. Saffron in phytotherapy: pharmacology and clinical uses. Wien Med Wochenschr 157: 315-319.
73. Shamsa A, Hosseinzadeh H, Molaei M, Shakeri MT, Rajabi O,. 2009. Evaluation of Crocus sativus L. (saffron) on male erectile dysfunction: A pilot study. Phyrtomedicine 16: 690-693.
74. Shati AA, Alamri SA,. 2010. Role of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and honey syrup on aluminum-induced hepatotoxicity. Saudi Med J 31: 1106-1113.
75. Tabatabaei SM, Kalantar-Hormozi A,. 2010. Influence of Dioscorides' book on Iranian and Islamic traditional medicine literatures. J Res Med Sci 33: 205-213.
76. Tashani OA, Johnson MI,. 2010. Avicenna's concept of pain. Libyan J Med 8: 5.
77. Tavakkol-Afshari J, Brook A, Mousavi SH,. 2008. Study of cytotoxic and apoptogenic properties of saffron extract in human cancer cell lines. Food Chem Toxicol 46: 443-447.
78. Vahidi H, Kamalinejad M, Sedaghati N,. 2002. Antimicrobial properties of Crocus sativus L. Iran J Pharm Res 1: 33-35.
79. Vermelin MM, Louyot J,. 1935. Abortion intoxication due to use of saffron followed by injections of concentrated solutions of sodium carbonate. Bull Soc Obstet Gynecol 24: 415.
80. Vyas LK, Tapar KK, Nema RK,. 2010. Study of Crocus sativus as complexion promoter in skin care. Int J Pharm Clin Res 2: 76-79.
81. Waller DP,. 1993. Methods in ethnopharmacology. J Ethnopharmacol 38: 189-195.
82. Wang CJ, Shiow SJ, Lin JK,. 1991. Effects of crocetin on the hepatotoxicity and hepatic DNA binding of aflatoxin B1 in rats. Carcinogenesis 12: 459-462.
83. Wang Y, Han T, Zhu Y, et al,. 2010. Antidepressant properties of bioactive fractions from the extract of Crocus sativus L. J Nat Med 64: 24-30.
84. Wong L, Knapsey K,. 2008. Food for the seasons: eat well and stay healthy the traditional Chinese way. Red Dog Books: Fitzroy; 180.
85. Xu GL, Li G, Ma HP, Zhong H, Liu F, Ao GZ,. 2009. Preventive effect of crocin in inflamed animals and in LPS-challenged RAW 264.7 cells. J Agr Food Chem 57: 8325-8330.
86. Xuan B, Zhou YH, Li N, Min ZD, Chiou GC,. 1991. Effects of crocin analogs on ocular blood flow and retinal function. J Ocul Pharmacol Therap 15: 143-152.
87. Yamauchi M, Tsuruma K, Imai S, et al,. 2011. Crocetin prevents retinal degeneration induced by oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stresses via inhibition of caspase activity. Eur J Pharmacol 650: 110-119.
88. Yance DR, Valentine A,. 1999. Herbal medicine, healing, and cancer: a comprehensive program for prevention and treatment. Keats Publishing: Chicago; 147.
89. Yang XG, Zhang Q, Yu JN, Lian JP, Lei AJ,. 2006. Effect of Crocus sativus extract on the concentration of glutamic acid in the vitreous body in rabbits with chronic ocular hypertension. Int J Ophthalmol 6: 1025-1026.
90. Zeinali F, Anvari M, Dashti RMH, Hosseini SM,. 2009. The effects of different concentrations of saffron (Crocus sativus) decoction on preterm delivery in mice. Planta Med 75: 1026-1026.