A Review on Therapeutic Potentials of Crocetin-A Carotenoid Derived from Saffron

Natural dyes recognized as carotenoids have found application in health care system due to their wide biological activities, high safety margins and lower cost. Crocetin, a carotenoid constituent of saffron has shown wide range of pharmacological applications due to its significant antioxidant properties. It is used as antifungal, antimicrobial and antiallergic agent. Crocetin has shown significant potential as an anti- tumor agent in animal models and cell culture systems. Current review has shown crocetin’s multispectrum pharmacological benefits for the treatment of various chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, parkinson’s and alzheimer’s disease. This review focus on various studies done on crocetin explaining its broa d spectrum pharmacological activities. In addition, this review will also focus on the pharmacokinetic studies of crocetin on human and animals. Crocetin is a highly potent molecule because of its strong antioxidant properties. In the near future, increasing its bioavailability using novel drug delivery methods having minimum side effects will get this promising natural molecule to the forefront of therapy for the treatment of various chronic human diseases like cancer, diabetes, parkinson’s and alzheimer’s disease.