Effects of saffron and its active constituent crocin on cancer management: A narrative review

Cancer is a major public health problem in the world, and it dramatically affects the life expectancy of patients and their quality of life. Natural products from botanicals could be beneficial in the prevention or treatment of a variety of cancers. Saffron (the extract of Crocus sativus) includes its major constituent, crocin, have been used as a folk medicine for a long time, and they have shown obvious cancer chemoprevention potential. The objectives of this review are to present the progress of research on the effects of saffron and crocin in cancer management and the underlying mechanisms of action.

We searched publications in the English language, published between January 1, 1980 and September 30, 2022, of saffron and crocin on cancer through several search engines, i.e., PubMed, SciFinder and Web of Science.

In this article, we first summarize the phytochemical studies of this botanical. Then, we present the anticancer effects of saffron and crocin on different human cancer cells. Saffron and crocin showed obvious antiproliferative effects on human cancer cell lines, including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, leukemia, glioblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. Finally, the anticancer-related mechanisms of action are summarized, including cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 or G2/M phases, induction of caspase-dependent apoptosis, signaling pathway-linked tumor metabolism regulation, and adaptive immunity regulated inflammation of host immune responses.

Previous studies related to saffron and crocin in cancer management have been reviewed and reported results have been analyzed. Clinical data suggest that saffron and crocin have beneficial effects to improve quality of life in cancer patients. Thus, saffron and crocin can be considered promising candidates for future clinical cancer studies.