Salmeh Bahmanpour - Associate Professor of Nutrition-Ph.D
Zohreh Mazloom - Full Professor of Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
Nasrollah Erfani - Full Professor of Immunology, Cancer Immunology group, Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Background and Aim: Saffron as the most expensive spices in the world, is the richest source of large number of phytochemicals including mainly carotenoids. We investigated the role of saffron total extract in an In vitro study with considering the mechanisms related to cancer hallmarks (apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest), and also apoptosis-related events like mitochondrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in human colon cancer cell line of SW1116Methods: SW1116 colon cancer cell line were incubated with different concentration of saffron extract (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 mg/ml). Cell viability was quantitated by colorimetric MTT assay. A variety of methods were used to investigate the way(s) saffron affects SW1116 cell line Results: Saffron s extract significantly decreased cell viability in SW1116 cells in a concentration- and time- dependent manner with an IC50 of 5.00±0.02 mg/ml after 48 h. Saffron suppressed the proliferation of SW1116 cells and led to cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase(RNase/PI method), as well as induction of apoptosis (AnnexinV-FITC/PI assay) which was accompanied by depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (Rhodamin123 assay). These events were also dependent on ROS production because saffron extract lead to ROS generation (DCF-DA cellular ROS detection Assay). Conclusion: Growth inhibitory effects of saffron on SW1116 human colon cancer cells seems to be mediated by the induction of apoptosis, reduction of the mitochondrial membrane potential, G2/M arrest, and ROS generation. These data collectively suggest that saffron could be a promising chemotherapeutic herb in cancer prevention and treatment.

Colon; saffron; In vitro model; Reactive Oxygen Species; Mitochondrial Membrane;