Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Winter;15(1):253-61.

Effects of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Stigma Extract and its Active Constituent Crocin on Neuropathic Pain Responses in a Rat Model of Chronic Constriction Injury

Hossein Ali Safakhah  1 , Tahereh Taghavi  1 , Ali Rashidy-Pour  1 , Abbas Ali Vafaei  1 , Mina Sokhanvar  1 , Narges Mohebbi  1 , Mostafa Rezaei-Tavirani  2
Affiliations

Effects of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Stigma Extract and its Active Constituent Crocin on Neuropathic Pain Responses in a Rat Model of Chronic Constriction Injury

Hossein Ali Safakhah et al. Iran J Pharm Res. 2016 Winter.

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the therapeutic effects of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and its main constituent crocin on neuropathic pain behavioral responses induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) in rats. Adult male Wistar rats (200 to 250 g) were randomly assigned into 5 groups: Sham + saline, CCI + saline, CCI+ saffron (30 mg/kg), CCI + crocin (15 mg/kg) and CCI + crocin (30 mg/kg). CCI was induced by applying 4 loose ligatures around the sciatic nerve. Two weeks after nerve lesion, injections of saline, saffron or crocin were started and continued until 26(th) day post-surgery. Pain behavioral responses including mechanical allodynia (von Frey filament testing) and thermal hyperalgesia were measured in 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, and 40(th) days after CCI. CCI significantly increased pain behavioral responses. Saffron and crocin (30 mg/kg) decreased thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia on day 26, and this effect continued until the day 40. Crocin at lower dose (15 mg/kg) was ineffective. These findings indicate that treatment of saffron and crocin after CCI may have a therapeutic effect against neuropathic pain, suggesting that these substances may offer new strategies for the treatment of this highly debilitating condition.

Keywords: Allodynia; Crocin; Hyperalgesia; Neuropathic pain; Rat; Saffron (Crocus sativus L.).

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Time line of experimental procedures (see Materials and methods for details
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of chronic uses of saffron extract and crocin on mechanical allodynia – induced by CCI. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM. b1P = 0.007; b2P = 0.005, c1P = 0.001, and c2P = 0.004 as compared with the CCI + Saline group at the same day. C: crocin; SE: saffron extract
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of chronic systemic administration of saffron extract and crocin on thermal hyperalgesia-induced by CCI in rats. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM. b1P = 0.029; b2P = 0.035, c1P = 0.014, and c2P = 0.03 as compared with the CCI + Saline group at the same day. C: crocin; SE: saffron extract
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Costigan M, Scholz J, Woolf CJ. Neuropathic pain: a maladaptive response of the nervous system to damage. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2009;32:1–32. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zimmermann M. Pathobiology of neuropathic pain. Eur J Pharmacol. 2001;429:23–37. - PubMed
    1. Dworkin RH, Backonja M, Rowbotham MC, Allen RR, Argoff CR, Bennett GJ, Bushnell MC, Farrar JT, Galer BS, Haythornthwaite JA, Hewitt DJ, Loeser JD, Max MB, Saltarelli M, Schmader KE, Stein C, Thompson D, Turk DC, Wallace MS, Watkins LR, Weinstein SM. Advances in neuropathic pain: diagnosis, mechanisms, and treatment recommendations. Arch Neurol. 2003;60:1524–34. - PubMed
    1. Woolf CJ, Mannion RJ. Neuropathic pain: aetiology, symptoms, mechanisms, and management. The lancet. 1999;353:1959–64. - PubMed
    1. Niv D, Devor M. Refractory neuropathic pain: the nature and extent of the problem. Pain Practice. 2006;6:3–9. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources