by Maroua Ait Tastift 1,2, Rachida Makbal 1,2, Thouria Bourhim 1,2,Zineb Omari 1,2,Hiroko Isoda 3,4 and Chemseddoha Gadhi 1,2,4,*
1 Laboratory of Agri-Food, Biotechnology, and Valorization of Plant Resources, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Medicinal Plants Unit, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Avenue Prince Moulay Abdellah, BP 2390, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
2 Agrobiotechnology and Bioengineering Center, CNRST-Labeled Research Unit (AgroBiotech-URL-CNRST-05 Center), Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
3 Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba City 305-8572, Ibaraki, Japan
4 Alliance for Research on the Mediterranean and North Africa (ARENA), University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba City 305-8572, Ibaraki, Japan
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Hinanit Koltai
Molecules 2022, 27(10), 3339; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27103339
Received: 5 March 2022 / Revised: 18 May 2022 / Accepted: 19 May 2022 / Published: 23 May 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Functional Applications of Medicinal Plants)
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/10/3339
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. In addition to its culinary utilization, this spice is used for medicinal purposes such as in pain management. In this study, the analgesic activity of Crocus sativus stigma extract (CSSE) was evaluated in rodents and its possible physiological mechanism was elucidated. The anti-nociceptive effect of CSSE was evaluated using three animal models (hot plate, writhing, and formalin tests). The analgesic pathways involved were assessed using various analgesia-mediating receptors antagonists. The oral administration of CSSE, up to 2000 mg/kg, caused no death or changes in the behavior or in the hematological and biochemical blood parameters of treated animals nor in the histological architecture of the animals’ livers and kidneys. CSSE showed a central, dose-dependent, anti-nociceptive effect in response to thermal stimuli; and a peripheral analgesic effect in the test of contortions induced by acetic acid. The dual (central and peripheral) analgesic effect was confirmed by the formalin test. The anti-nociceptive activity of CSSE was totally or partially reversed by the co-administration of receptor antagonists, naloxone, atropine, haloperidol, yohimbine, and glibenclamide. CSSE influenced signal processing, by the modulation of the opioidergic, adrenergic, and muscarinic systems at the peripheral and central levels; and by regulation of the dopaminergic system and control of the opening of the ATP-sensitive K+ channels at the spinal level. The obtained data point to a multimodal mechanism of action for CSSE: An anti-inflammatory effect and a modulation, through different physiological pathways, of the electrical signal generated by the nociceptors. Further clinical trials are required to endorse the potential utilization of Moroccan saffron as a natural painkiller. View Full-Text
Keywords: Crocus sativus; stigma; analgesia; receptor systems; Moroccan saffron
molecules-27-03339