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Crocins

Properties and Applications

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Food Bioactive Ingredients

  • 38 Accesses

Abstract

Crocin is a carotenoid component found in the stigmas of the Crocus sativus plant, which is also known as saffron. In addition to being employed as a taste ingredient, pharmacological studies have revealed a number of therapeutic qualities, including antimutagenic, neuroprotective, memory, and cognition-improving properties, as well as a few other benefits for saffron. Extensive research on crocin has examined the high bioactivities of this unique water-soluble carotenoid during the last 20–25 years. The current chapter presents a comprehensive and up-to-date report on empirical research about crocin bioactivities and biological features. The pharmacologic investigation of crocins in terms of structural characteristics and pharmacokinetics is comprehensively covered in this review, which also summarizes the disease-treating mechanisms. This text also contributes to the improvement of crocin stability and its usage as a functional ingredient with therapeutic effects on numerous human body systems, which could pave the way for industrial crocin generation and metabolic engineering-based crocin-rich functional meals.

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Abbreviations

AChE inhibitors:

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

AGS:

Gastric adenocarcinoma

ATC:

Anaplastic thyroid cancer

Aβ1-42:

Amyloid beta1-42

CDKIs:

Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors

CDKs:

Cyclin-dependent kinases

CE:

Cholesteryl ester

ER:

Endoplasmic reticulum

ERK:

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase

FAO/WHO:

Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization

FOXO:

The forkhead box transcription factor class O

FTC:

Follicular thyroid cancer

GC:

Gas chromatography

Gent-MIP:

Gentiobiose imprinted polymer

GSH:

Glutathione peroxidase reducing activities

HPLC:

High performance liquid chromatography

IR:

Ischemia-reperfusion

JAK2/STAT3:

Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription

JNK:

C-Jun NH2-terminal kinases

LDL:

Low-density lipoprotein

LPO:

Lipid peroxidation

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

miRNAs:

MicroRNAs

MMPs:

Matrix metalloproteinases

MSC:

Mesenchymal stem cells

NAC:

N-acetyl-l-cysteine

NF-κB:

Nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells

NMDA:

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor

NO:

Nitric oxide

Nrf2:

Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2

Ox-LDL:

Oxidatively modified low density lipoprotein

PTC:

Papillary thyroid cancer

PTPN4:

Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Non-Receptor Type 4

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SMC:

Smooth muscle cells

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

TC:

Thyroid cancer

TLC:

Thin layer chromatography

UPLC–MS/MS:

Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Zohreh Karami & Kiattisak Duangmal

  2. Department Food Materials & Process Design Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural resources, Gorgan, Iran

    Seid Mahdi Jafari

  3. Emerging Processes for Food Functionality Design Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Kiattisak Duangmal

Authors
  1. Zohreh Karami
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  2. Seid Mahdi Jafari
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  3. Kiattisak Duangmal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kiattisak Duangmal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Iberian Food Laboratory, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain

    Seid Mahdi Jafari

  2. Massey University, Riddet Institute, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    Ali Rashidinejad

  3. Nutrition and Food Science Group, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain

    Jesus Simal-Gandara

Section Editor information

  1. International Iberian Food Laboratory, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain

    Seid Mahdi Jafari

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Karami, Z., Jafari, S.M., Duangmal, K. (2023). Crocins. In: Jafari, S.M., Rashidinejad, A., Simal-Gandara, J. (eds) Handbook of Food Bioactive Ingredients. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81404-5_57-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81404-5_57-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-81404-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-81404-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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