RESUMEN
Natural products or organic compounds isolated from natural sources as primary or secondary metabolites have inspired numerous drugs [...].
Asunto(s)
Crocus/química , Extractos Vegetales/química , Extractos Vegetales/farmacología , Productos Biológicos/química , Productos Biológicos/farmacologíaRESUMEN
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental devastating disease. Current therapy suffers from various limitations including low efficacy and serious side effects. Thus, there is an urgent necessity to develop new antipsychotics with higher efficacy and safety. The dried stigma of the plant Crocus sativus L., (CS) commonly known as saffron, are used in traditional medicine for various purposes. It has been demonstrated that saffron and its bioactive components crocins and safranal exert a beneficial action in different pathologies of the central nervous system such as anxiety, depression, epilepsy and memory problems. Recently, their role as potential antipsychotic agents is under investigation. In the present review, I intended to critically assess advances in research of these molecules for the treatment of schizophrenia, comment on their advantages over currently used neuroleptics as well-remaining challenges. Up to our days, few preclinical studies have been conducted to this end. In spite of it, results are encouraging and strongly corroborate that additional research is mandatory aiming to definitively establish a role for saffron and its bioactive components for the treatment of schizophrenia.
Asunto(s)
Antipsicóticos/uso terapéutico , Carotenoides/uso terapéutico , Crocus/química , Ciclohexenos/uso terapéutico , Extractos Vegetales/uso terapéutico , Esquizofrenia/tratamiento farmacológico , Terpenos/uso terapéutico , Animales , Antipsicóticos/química , Antipsicóticos/aislamiento & purificación , Carotenoides/química , Carotenoides/aislamiento & purificación , Ciclohexenos/química , Ciclohexenos/aislamiento & purificación , Humanos , Medicina Tradicional , Estructura Molecular , Extractos Vegetales/química , Extractos Vegetales/aislamiento & purificación , Terpenos/química , Terpenos/aislamiento & purificaciónRESUMEN
Anxiety is a chronic severe psychiatric disorder. Crocins are among the various bioactive components of the plant Crocus sativus L. (Iridaceae) and their implication in anxiety is well-documented. However, which is the mechanism of action underlying the anti-anxiety effects of crocins remains unknown. In this context, it has been suggested that these beneficial effects might be ascribed to the agonistic properties of these bioactive ingredients of saffron on the GABA type A receptor. The current experimentation was undertaken to clarify this issue in the rat. For this research project, the light/dark and the open field tests were used. A single injection of crocins (50 mg/kg, i.p., 60 min before testing) induces an anti-anxiety-like effect revealed either in the light-dark or open field tests. Acute administration of the GABAA-benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil (10 mg/kg, i.p., 30 min before testing) abolished the above mentioned anxiolytic effects of crocins. The current findings suggest a functional interaction between crocins and the GABAA receptor allosteric modulator flumazenil on anxiety.
Asunto(s)
Ansiolíticos/farmacología , Ansiedad/tratamiento farmacológico , Benzodiazepinas/metabolismo , Carotenoides/toxicidad , Crocus/química , Flumazenil/farmacología , Antagonistas de Receptores de GABA-A/farmacología , Animales , Ansiedad/inducido químicamente , Ansiedad/metabolismo , Ansiedad/patología , Conducta Animal/efectos de los fármacos , Masculino , Extractos Vegetales/toxicidad , Ratas , Ratas WistarRESUMEN
Crocus sativus L., is a plant cultivated in many countries of the world. Crocins are among the active constituents of C. sativus and their implication in cognition has been proposed. The present study was designed to investigate in the rat the effects of crocins on distinct recognition memory components (encoding, storage and retrieval). Subsequently, the potential use of crocins as adjunctive agents for the treatment of memory disorders was examined. Thus, the effects exerted by a combination of subthreshold doses of crocins and memantine on recognition memory were evaluated. To assess the effects of compounds on memory, the novel object-recognition task (NORT) was used. In a preliminary study, the influence of the retention time (the delay between the two trials) on the performance of rats was assessed. Rats' recognition memory abilities remained intact up to 6 h, but were extinguished when a delay of 24 h was utilized. Crocins, at any dose tested (5, 15, and 30 mg/kg), did not affect rats' performance, whereas administration of higher doses (15 and 30 mg/kg) reversed delay-dependent deficits in the NORT. The combination of subthreshold doses of crocins (5 mg/kg) and memantine (3 mg/kg) did not influence the performance, but counteracted delay-dependent deficits in the NORT. These findings suggest that crocins counteract natural forgetting and may modulate different aspects of recognition memory, and that the combined use of crocins and memantine might represent a novel strategy to treat memory disorders.
Asunto(s)
Carotenoides/farmacología , Crocus/metabolismo , Reconocimiento en Psicología/efectos de los fármacos , Animales , Carotenoides/metabolismo , Crocus/fisiología , Quimioterapia Combinada/métodos , Masculino , Memantina/farmacología , Memoria/efectos de los fármacos , Extractos Vegetales/farmacología , Ratas , Ratas WistarRESUMEN
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disease that affects nearly 1% of the population worldwide. Several lines of evidence suggest that the dopaminergic (DAergic) system might be compromised in schizophrenia. Specifically, the mixed dopamine (DA) D1/D2 receptor agonist apomorphine induces schizophrenia-like symptoms in rodents, including disruption of memory abilities. Crocins are among the active components of saffron (dried stigmas of Crocus sativus L. plant) and their implication in cognition is well documented. The present study investigated whether crocins counteract non-spatial and spatial recognition memory deficits induced by apomorphine in rats. For this purpose, the novel object recognition task (NORT) and the novel object location task (NOLT) were used. The effects of compounds on mobility in a locomotor activity chamber were also investigated in rats. Post-training peripheral administration of crocins (15 and 30mg/kg) counteracted apomorphine (1mg/kg)-induced performance deficits in the NORT. Conversely, crocins did not attenuate spatial recognition memory deficits produced by apomorphine in the NOLT. The present data show that crocins reversed non-spatial recognition memory impairments produced by dysfunction of the DAergic system and modulate different aspects of memory components (storage and/or retrieval). The effects of compounds on recognition memory cannot be attributed to changes in locomotor activity. Further, our findings illustrate a functional interaction between crocins and the DAergic system that may be of relevance for schizophrenia-like behavioral deficits. Therefore, the utilization of crocins as an adjunctive agent, for the treatment of cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenic patients should be further investigated.
Asunto(s)
Carotenoides/farmacología , Locomoción/efectos de los fármacos , Trastornos de la Memoria , Reconocimiento en Psicología/efectos de los fármacos , Memoria Espacial/efectos de los fármacos , Animales , Apomorfina/toxicidad , Crocus , Agonistas de Dopamina/toxicidad , Masculino , Trastornos de la Memoria/inducido químicamente , Extractos Vegetales/farmacología , Ratas , Ratas Wistar , Esquizofrenia/inducido químicamenteRESUMEN
Anxiety disorders and schizophrenia are common public health issues. The dried stigma of the plant Crocus sativus L., (C. sativus) commonly known as saffron are used in folk medicine for various purposes. Several lines of evidence suggest that C. sativus, crocins and safranal are implicated in anxiety and schizophrenia. Here, I intend to critically review advances in research of these emerging molecules for the treatment of anxiety and schizophrenia, discuss their advantages over currently used anxiolytics and neuroleptics, as well remaining challenges. Current analysis shows that C. sativus and its components might be a promising class of compounds for the treatment of the above mentioned psychiatric diseases.
Asunto(s)
Ansiolíticos/uso terapéutico , Antidepresivos/uso terapéutico , Trastornos de Ansiedad/tratamiento farmacológico , Crocus/química , Extractos Vegetales/uso terapéutico , Esquizofrenia/tratamiento farmacológico , Animales , Ansiolíticos/química , Ansiolíticos/farmacología , Antidepresivos/química , Antidepresivos/farmacología , Conducta Animal/efectos de los fármacos , Ensayos Clínicos como Asunto , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Humanos , Medicina Tradicional , Extractos Vegetales/química , Extractos Vegetales/farmacologíaRESUMEN
Memory-related disorders are a common public health issue. Memory impairment is frequent in degenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson disease), cerebral injuries, and schizophrenia. The dried stigma of the plant Crocus sativus L. (C. sativus), commonly known as saffron, is used in folk medicine for various purposes. Several lines of evidence suggest that C. sativus and its constituents are implicated in cognition. Here we critically review advances in research of these emerging molecular targets for the treatment of memory disorders, and discuss their advantages over currently used cognitive enhancers as well remaining challenges. Current analysis has shown that C. sativus and its components might be a promising target for cognition impairments.
RESUMEN
The effects of extracts of Crocus sativus L. (CSE), on memory were investigated in the rat by using the object recognition and the step-through passive avoidance task. In the first study, post-training administration of CSE (30 and 60 g/kg) successfully counteracted extinction of recognition memory in the normal rat, suggesting that CSE modulates storage and/or retrieval of information. In a subsequent study, pre-training treatment with CSE (30 and 60 mg/kg) significantly antagonized the scopolamine (0.75 mg/kg)-induced performance deficits in the step-through passive avoidance test. These results support and extend prior findings about the implication of CSE in learning and memory mechanisms.