Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in ocular diseases: a narrative review of the existing evidence from clinical studies

Rebekka Heitmar, James E Brown, Ioannis Kyrou

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and its main constituents, i.e., crocin and crocetin, are natural carotenoid compounds, which have been reported to possess a wide spectrum of properties and induce pleiotropic anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and neuroprotective effects. An increasing number of experimental, animal, and human studies have investigated the effects and mechanistic pathways of these compounds in order to assess their potential therapeutic use in ocular diseases (e.g., in age related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic maculopathy). This narrative review presents the key findings of published clinical studies that examined the effects of saffron and/or its constituents in the context of ocular disease, as well as an overview of the proposed underlying mechanisms mediating these effects.

Original languageEnglish
Article number649
JournalNutrients
Volume11
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Mar 2019

Bibliographical note

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Keywords

  • AMD
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Anti-oxidant
  • Crocetin
  • Crocin
  • Crocus Sativus L
  • Diabetes
  • Glaucoma
  • Saffron
  • Supplements

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in ocular diseases: a narrative review of the existing evidence from clinical studies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this