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Review
. 2023 Jun 29:11:e15535.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.15535. eCollection 2023.

Advances on the anti-tumor mechanisms of the carotenoid Crocin

Xingxun Bao #  1 , Jinhua Hu #  2 , Yan Zhao  3 , Ruixue Jia  1 , Hairong Zhang  4 , Lei Xia  1
Affiliations
Review

Advances on the anti-tumor mechanisms of the carotenoid Crocin

Xingxun Bao et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Saffron is located in the upper part of the crocus stigma of iridaceae, which has a long history of medicinal use. Crocin (molecular formula C44H64O24) is a natural floral glycoside ester compound extracted from saffron, which is a type carotenoid. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that crocin has multiple therapeutic effects including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-hyperlipidemic and anti-stone effects. In recent years, crocin has been widely noticed due to its considerable anti-tumor effects manifested by the induction of tumor cell apoptosis, inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, inhibition of tumor cell invasion and metastasis, enhancement of chemotherapy sensitivity and improvement of immune status. The anti-tumor effects have been shown in various malignant tumors such as gastric cancer, liver cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancer. In this review, we compiled recent studies on the anti-tumor effects of crocin and summarized its anti-tumor mechanism for developing ideas of treating malignancies and exploring anti-tumor drugs.

Keywords: Cancer; Crocin; Mechanism; Nanoliposome; Tumor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the chemical structure of crocin.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of crocin inducing apoptosis of tumor cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Schematic diagram of crocin inhibiting tumor cell proliferation.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Inhibitory effect of crocin on invasion and migration of tumor cells.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Main anti-cancer molecular pathways mediated by crocin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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The authors received no funding for this work.
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