ArticleDigestive diseases and sciences2022
Protective Effect of Saffron in Mouse Colitis Models Through Immune Modulation.
Article in Digestive diseases and sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rewiring redox defense: Nrf2-driven antioxidant signaling as a gateway to programmed cell death activation in colorectal cancer.Genes & diseases · 2027Review
- Phytochemistry, Biological Activities, Molecular Mechanisms, and Toxicity of Saffron (Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Review
- Therapeutic Potential ofPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Structure and regulatory mechanisms of food-derived peptides in inflammatory bowel disease: A review.Food science & nutrition · 2024Review
- Saffron as a Promising Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Potential efficacy and mechanism of eight mild-natured and bitter-flavored TCMs based on gut microbiota: A review.Chinese herbal medicines · 2024Review
- Microbiomic and Metabolomic Analyses Unveil the Protective Effect of Saffron in a Mouse Colitis Model.Current issues in molecular biology · 2023Article
- Active constituents of saffron (Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2023Review
- Article
- Effects of Medicinal Plants and Phytochemicals in Nrf2 Pathways during Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Related Colorectal Cancer: A Comprehensive Review.Metabolites · 2023Review
- Saffron, Its Active Components, and Their Association with DNA and Histone Modification: A Narrative Review of Current Knowledge.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Interaction of saffron and its constituents with Nrf2 signaling pathway: A review.Iranian journal of basic medical sciences · 2022Review
- Saffron Pre-Treatment Promotes Reduction in Tissue Inflammatory Profiles and Alters Microbiome Composition in Experimental Colitis Mice.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Saffron: A potential drug-supplement for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (COVID) management.Heliyon · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPeople with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including ulcerative colitis are at risk for colorectal cancer. Despite available effective drugs used to treat IBD, many patients fail or lose response over time with some displaying drug-induced adverse events. Saffron (Crocus sativus) has been reported to have anti-inflammatory properties. Its protective role in IBD has not been explored extensively.
aimTo establish whether saffron treatment alleviates inflammation in experimental colitis.
methodsColitis was induced in C57BL/6 mice with 3% DSS and treated with either saffron doses (7.5, 15, 20, 25 mg/kg body weight) or vehicle through daily gavage. On day 11, mice were euthanized and analyzed for gross and microscopic inflammation. Distal colon segments were collected for mRNA and protein expression of HO-1 protein and GPX2, (the downstream targets of NRF-2). Nrf-2 translocation from cytosol to nucleus was confirmed by immunofluorescence, and further Nrf-2 protein expression in nuclear and cytosolic fraction of colon was analyzed by immunoblot. Immune cells were isolated from the lamina propria of mouse colon for flow cytometry-based immunophenotyping. Colitis was also induced in C57BL/6 Ahr knockout and wild type mice to explore the involvement of Ahr-dependent pathways in saffron's protective effect(s). The therapeutic effect of saffron was further validated in another TNBS model of colitis.
resultsSaffron 20 mg/kg body weight showed improved colon gross and histology features and led to better body weight, colon length, histology score, and reduced disease activity index (DAI). Saffron significantly decreased pro-inflammatory macrophages (M1), while increasing anti-inflammatory macrophages (M2) and IL10 + dendritic cells. Saffron treatment also enhanced CD3 + T and CD3 + CD8 + T cells followed by increase in different CD3 + CD4 + T cells subsets like CD25 + T cells, FoxP3 + CD25 + regulatory T cells, and CD4 + FOXP3 + CD25-regulatory T cells. Immunoblot analysis showed a significant increase in HO-1/GPX2 protein expression. With saffron treatment, Nrf-2 translocation into nucleus from cytosol also supports the involvement of Nrf-2 and its downstream targets in the protective effect of saffron. Further, we demonstrated that saffron in part exert anti-inflammatory effect through activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-dependent pathways.
conclusionThese data demonstrate saffron's therapeutic potential and its protective role in part via Ahr/Nrf-2 pathways and regulatory innate and adaptive immune cells.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.