ArticleScientific reports2017
Antiproliferative Activity of Crocin Involves Targeting of Microtubules in Breast Cancer Cells.
Article in Scientific reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of Saffron (Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Review
- A comprehensive systematic review of human trials investigating herbal treatments for Alzheimer's disease and dementia.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2026Review
- Crocin and eugenol enhance radiosensitivity in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells via apoptotic pathways and cell cycle regulation. Type of study: in vitro.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Exploring Saffron's Therapeutic Potential: Insights on Phytochemistry, Bioactivity, and Clinical Implications.Current pharmaceutical design · 2026Review
- Phytochemistry, Biological Activities, Molecular Mechanisms, and Toxicity of Saffron (Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Potential of natural drug modulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the treatment of myocardial injury.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2024Review
- Potential therapeutic effects of crocin.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2024Review
- Revealing the dynamics of saffron growth: Optimizing corm size and planting depth for increased yield synergies.PloS one · 2024Article
- Review
- Yellow pigment from gardenia fruit: structural identification and evaluation of cytotoxic activity in HepG2 cells by induction of apoptosis.Food science and biotechnology · 2022Article
- Insight into the Progress on Natural Dyes: Sources, Structural Features, Health Effects, Challenges, and Potential.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Cow and Ewe Cheeses Made with Saffron: Characterization of Bioactive Compounds and Their Antiproliferative Effect in Cervical Adenocarcinoma (HeLa) and Breast Cancer (MDA-MB-231) Cells.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Ethnomedicinal uses of Indian spices used for cancer treatment: A treatise on structure-activity relationship and signaling pathways.Current research in food science · 2022Review
- Crocin exerts anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects on cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma via miR-320a/ATG2B.Bioengineered · 2021Article
- Phytochemicals from Indian Ethnomedicines: Promising Prospects for the Management of Oxidative Stress and Cancer.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Status and Challenges of Plant-Anticancer Compounds in Cancer Treatment.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Article
- Crocin Promotes Apoptosis in Human EBV-Transformed B-Lymphocyte via Intrinsic Pathway.Mediterranean journal of hematology and infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Crocetin and Its Glycoside Crocin, Two Bioactive Constituents FromFrontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Crocin, a component of saffron spice, is known to have an anticancer activity. However, the targets of crocin are not known. In this study, crocin was found to inhibit the proliferation of HCC70, HCC1806, HeLa and CCD1059sk cells by targeting microtubules. Crocin depolymerized both the interphase and mitotic microtubules of different cancer cells, inhibited mitosis and induced multipolar spindle formation in these cells. In vitro, crocin inhibited the assembly of pure tubulin as well as the assembly of microtubule-associated protein rich tubulin. Electron microscopic analysis showed that crocin inhibited microtubule assembly while it induced aggregation of tubulin at higher concentrations. Crocin co-eluted with tubulin suggesting that it binds to tubulin. Vinblastine inhibited the binding of crocin to tubulin while podophyllotoxin did not inhibit the crocin binding indicating that crocin binds at the vinblastine site on tubulin. The results suggested that crocin inhibited cell proliferation mainly by disrupting the microtubule network.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.