The effect of crocin supplementation on glycemic control, insulin resistance and active AMPK levels in patients with type 2 diabetes: a pilot study

Abstract

Background Crocin as a carotenoid exerts anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, neuroprotective and cardioprotective effects. Besides, the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its allied complications, and also patients' desire to use natural products for treating their diseases, led to the design of this study to evaluate the efficacy of crocin on glycemic control, insulin resistance and active adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) levels in patients with type-2 diabetes (T2D). Methods In this clinical trial with a parallel-group design, 50 patients with T2D received either 15-mg crocin or placebo, twice daily, for 12 weeks. Anthropometric measurements, dietary intake, physical activity, blood pressure, glucose homeostasis parameters, active form of AMPK were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the study. Results Compared with the placebo group, crocin improved fasting glucose level ( P = 0.015), hemoglobin A1c ( P = 0.045), plasma insulin level ( P = 0.046), insulin resistance ( P = 0.001), and insulin sensitivity ( P = 0.001). Based on the within group analysis, crocin led to significant improvement in plasma levels of glucose, insulin, hemoglobin A1c, systolic blood pressure, insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity. The active form of AMPK did not change within and between groups after intervention. Conclusions The findings indicate that crocin supplementation can improve glycemic control and insulin resistance in patients with T2D. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings. Trial Registration This study has been registered at Clinicaltrial.gov with registration number NCT04163757

Mechanisms and Therapeutic Prospects of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy Through the Inflammatory Response

“…Also, PPARγ agonism by crocin, a carotenoid compound found in saffron, reduces TNFα and IL-6 levels in diabetic rats following MI (Badavi et al, 2020). Similar antiinflammatory effects were observed in clinical trials involving type 2 patients, which is likely due to the alleviation of insulin resistance and restoration of glycemic control; however, further research is warranted (Behrouz et al, 2020).…”

The Effect of Saffron Supplementation on Blood Pressure in Adults: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Table 1 represents the characteristics of included articles, where all of them were randomized clinical trials (RCTs), published between 2008 and 2020, that were conducted in Iran [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. The length of the intervention varied from 1 to 12 weeks, and the dosages of saffron supplementation were between 15 and 1000 mg. A cohort of 249 participants was collated in the intervention group, and 139 participants in the control group.…”

“…The length of the intervention varied from 1 to 12 weeks, and the dosages of saffron supplementation were between 15 and 1000 mg. A cohort of 249 participants was collated in the intervention group, and 139 participants in the control group. The participants of these studies were classified as healthy volunteers [ 37 ], having type 2 diabetes [ 41 , 43 , 44 ], or with schizophrenia [ 38 ], asthma [ 42 ], or metabolic syndrome [ 39 , 40 ]. All of the studies enrolled both sexes, and only one was exclusively conducted on men [ 38 ].…”

Identification of Crocin as a New hIAPP Amyloid Inhibitor via a Simple Yet Highly Biospecific Screening System

“…Meanwhile, Cro has been proved to have antidiabetes mellitus via improving insulin sensitivity, enhancing the activity of adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK), which can inhibit adipose formation and reverse metabolic abnormalities [33] . Further, a pilot clinical trial with T2D patients, showed that the supplementation of Cro can improve glycemic control and insulin resistance in AMPK independent manner [34] . Here, we found Cro showed potent inhibition effects on hIAPP amyloid formation, this might provide a new mechanism of Cro on T2D treatment.…”