| First Author | Das I | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Asian Pac J Cancer Prev | Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 70-6 |
| PubMed ID | 15075009 | Mgi Jnum | J:90201 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3042681 | Citation | Das I, et al. (2004) Saffron can prevent chemically induced skin carcinogenesis in Swiss albino mice. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 5(1):70-6 |
| abstractText | One of the most promising strategies for cancer prevention today is chemoprevention using readily available natural substances from vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices. Among the spices, saffron (Crocus sativus, L) a member of the large family Iridaceae, has drawn attention because apart from its use as a flavouring agent, pharmacological studies have demonstrated many health promoting properties including radical scavenging, anti- mutagenic and immuno-modulating effects. In the present study the effects of an aqueous infusion of saffron on two stage skin papillogenesis / carcinogenesis in mice initiated by 7-12 dimethyl benz[a] anthracin (DMBA) and promoted with croton oil were investigated. Significant reduction in papilloma formation was found with saffron application in the pre-initiation and post-initiation periods, and particular when the agent was given both pre- and post-initiation. The inhibition appeared to be at least partly due on modulatory effects of saffron on some phase II detoxifying enzymes like glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutahinoe peroxidase (GPx), as well as catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). |
