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Safranal

Chemical compound

Chemical compound

Safranal is an organic compound isolated from saffron, the spice consisting of the stigmas of crocus flowers (Crocus sativus). It is the constituent primarily responsible for the aroma of saffron.

It is believed that safranal is a degradation product of the carotenoid zeaxanthin via the intermediate picrocrocin.

Pharmacology

Safranal is an effective anticonvulsant in animal models, shown to act as an agonist at GABAA receptors. Safranal also exhibits high antioxidant activity, along with cytotoxicity towards cancer cells in vitro. One of its anticancer mechanisms of action involves disruption of the normal assembly dynamics of cellular microtubules. It has also been shown to have antidepressant properties in animals and pilot studies in humans.

Natural sources

Natural sources of safranal include: | access-date =2008-03-02

  • Microcystis (cyanobacterium)
  • Aspalathus linearis (rooibos)
  • Camellia sinensis (tea leaf)
  • Crocus sativus (saffron)
  • Ficus carica (fig leaf)
  • Lycium chinense (wolfberry)
  • Cuminum cyminum (cumin seed)
  • Centaurea sibthorpii
  • Centaurea amanicola
  • Centaurea consanguinea
  • Erodium cicutarium (common stork's-bill or pinweed)
  • Calycopteris floribunda (ukshi)
  • Sambucus nigra (elderberry)
  • Citrus limon (lemon)
  • Achillea distans

References

References

  1. (December 2005). "Anticonvulsant evaluation of safranal and crocin from Crocus sativus in mice". Fitoterapia.
  2. (April 2007). "Protective effect of safranal on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures in the rat: involvement of GABAergic and opioids systems". Phytomedicine.
  3. (2005). "Safranal, a constituent of Crocus sativus (saffron), attenuated cerebral ischemia induced oxidative damage in rat hippocampus". Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences.
  4. (November 2005). "Radical scavenging activity of Crocus sativus L. extract and its bioactive constituents". Phytotherapy Research.
  5. (February 1996). "Crocin, safranal and picrocrocin from saffron (Crocus sativus L.) inhibit the growth of human cancer cells in vitro". Cancer Letters.
  6. Cheriyamundath S, Choudhary S, Lopus M. (2017). "Safranal inhibits HeLa cell viability by perturbing the reassembly potential of microtubules". Phytother Res.
  7. (2004). "Antidepressant effect of ''Crocus sativus'' L. stigma extracts and their constituents, crocin and safranal, in mice". Acta Horticulturae.
  8. (September 2004). "Comparison of Crocus sativus L. and imipramine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: A pilot double-blind randomized trial ISRCTN45683816". BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
  9. (November 2002). "[Determination of chemical components of volatile oil from Cuminum cyminum L. by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry]". Se Pu.
  10. (January 2013). "[Safranal: From an Aromatic Natural Product to a Rewarding Pharmacological Agent]". Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences.
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aldehydes antidepressants saffron monoterpenes gabaa-receptor-positive-allosteric-modulators anticonvulsants
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