Inhibitory effect of saffron, crocin, crocetin, and safranal against adipocyte differentiation in human adipose-derived stem cells

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) has been introduced as a potential promising natural antioxidant with anti-obesity properties. In Persian Medicine, saffron has been used to control appetite and obesity. The present study aims to investigate the effect of saffron and its bioactive compounds on adipocyte differentiation in human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). Flow-Cytometric analysis was performed to quantify the cell surface markers. The extracts cytotoxicity on hASCs was measured using alamarBlue® assay whereas their activities against adipocyte differentiation were studied using Oil Red O staining. The level of Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), Fatty Acid Synthetase (FAS), and Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPHD) which are key proteins in cell differentiation was investigated by western blot analysis. Flow-cytometry revealed the mesenchymal stem cells markers, CD44 and CD90, on ADSCs surface. The saffron, crocin, and crocetin significantly inhibited adipocyte differentiation while saffron up to 20 μg/mL and crocin, crocetin and safranal up to 20 μM did not exhibit cytotoxicity. The western blotting analysis revealed a remarkable reduction in the level of PPARγ, GAPDH, and FAS proteins by 10 and 20 μM of crocin and 2.5 and 5 μM of crocetin. It seems that saffron, crocin, and crocetin could efficiently inhibit the differentiation of hASCs with benefits for the treatment and prevention of obesity.