The mechanisms of saffron (Crocus sativus') on the inflammatory pathways of diabetes mellitus: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: and amis: Diabetes is one of the major medical problems, which can lead to damage to cells or organs in various parts of the body. Saffron as herbal medicine has contained several active ingredients, including safranal, flavonoids, crocetin, and crocin, which are effective in modulating oxidative stress and inflammation, which can play the main role in reducing the effects of diabetes. However, so far, the effect of saffron on diabetes inflammation has not been evaluated in the form of systematic review studies. The purpose of this systematic study was to evaluate the evidence obtained from in-vitro, animal, and clinical trials studies on the effects of saffron on inflammation in diabetes. METHODS: The present systematic review was conducted according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statements. In this systematic review, databases such as Embase, Pubmed, SCOPUS, ProQuest, and sciences direct database were searched from the beginning to February 2021. All eligible in-vitro, animal and human studies that examined the effect of saffron on inflammatory factors in diabetes were published in the form of a full article in English. RESULTS: In the end, only 20 of the 596 articles met the criteria for analysis. Of the 20 articles, 3 were in-vitro studies, 13 were animal studies, and 4 were human studies. CONCLUSION: The findings of this systematic study (Except for two studies) suggest that saffron supplementation with potential anti-inflammatory properties may reduce the expression of the inflammatory pathway and the production of inflammatory products in diabetes.

Phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of Descurainia sophia Webb ex Prantl: modern and traditional applications.

Seed of Descurainia sophia Webb ex Prantl has been traditionally prescribed as treatment for palpitation, varicose vein, varicocele, constipation, hemorrhoid, skin eruptions, and impotence. To outline a view for further approaches, current work compiled a survey on all relevant clinical properties of this medicament in addition to the traditional reports. To do this, databases as PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, IranMedex and Science information databases (SID) were searched by keywords, i.e., "Descurainia sophia", "Khaksheer", and "Flixweed" as well as "pharmacology" and "phytochemistry". According to the findings, scant experimental evaluation and clinical assessment have been performed on this medicament. Of those, only anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic effects as well as antioxidant and anthelmintic activities were assessed and confirmed in experimental studies. Despite broad administration of this herb in folk and traditional medicine, only two human clinical trials in bowel discomfort and pregnant subjects were conducted. Taken as a whole, more comprehensive clinical evaluations should be conducted on respective applications to support those traditional and folk uses.