• Natural carotenoid crocin induced toxic effects on gastric adenocarcinoma cells in vitro
  • Parastoo Azadbeigie,1,* Nazanin Shadanpoor,2 , Farhang Haddad,3 Fatemeh B. Rassouli,4
    1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
    2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
    3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
    4. Novel Diagnostics and Therapeutics Research Group, Institute of Biotechnology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran


  • Introduction: Crocin is one of main carotenoids found in saffron (Crocus sativus L.). This agent has a wide range of pharmacological activities such as neuroprotective, cardioprotective and antitumor properties. Many studies have shown that crocin exerts its biological effects through its strong antioxidative action. Gastric cancer is a global health problem, with more than 1 million newly diagnosed cases annually. Incidence and mortality rates of gastric cancer have declined during recent years, however, this neoplasm remains the third leading cause of cancer-related death. The present study was designed to assess the toxic effects of crocin on human gastric adenocarcinoma cells in vitro.
  • Methods: To assess the cytotoxicity of crocin, MKN-45 cells (a human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line) were treated with 2, 4, and 6 mM of crocin for 24, 48, and 72 hours. Cell viability was then determined by alamarBlue assay, which is based on the reduction of dark blue resazurin into pink resorufin by cellular enzymes. In addition, the viability of human normal fibroblasts (HFF-3 cell line) was also evaluated after 72 hours treatment with 2, 4, and 6 mM crocin
  • Results: The effects of crocin on MKN-45 cells was assessed by calculating the cell viability after treatment with different concentrations of crocin during 3 consecutive days. Our results showed that crocin induced toxicity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. After 24, 48, and 72 hours treatment with 2 mM crocin, the cell viability was calculated to be 85.9%, 78.6%, and 74.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, 54.5%, 53.9%, and 34.8% of MKN-45 cell were alive upon 24, 48, and 72 hours treatment 4 mM crocin, respectively. Moreover, 24, 48, and 72 hours treatment with 6 mM crocin reduced MKN-45 cell viability down to 38.1%, 33.2%, and 27.1%, respectively. Worth to mention, toxicity of crocin was also observed on normal cells, as 50.9%, 27.4%, and 17.3% of HFF-3 cells were alive after 72 hours treatment with 2, 4, and 6 mM crocin, respectively.
  • Conclusion: To sum up, our findings indicated that crocin has toxic effects on gastric adenocarcinoma cells and normal fibroblasts in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Further research is needed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of crocin action.
  • Keywords: Crocin, Gastric cancer, Cytotoxicity, Natural carotenoid, in vitro assay.