Corms are obtained as a by-product during the cultivation of saffron (Crocus sativus). In a project aimed at the valorization of this waste product, we observed that
a 70% EtOH extract of the corms and particularly a Diaion HP-20 methanolic fraction
thereof inhibited the TNF-α/IFN-γ-induced secretion and gene expression of the chemokines
IL-8, MCP-1 and RANTES in human HaCaT cells. The effects were partly stronger than
those of the positive control hydrocortisone.
After semi-preparative HPLC separation of the methanolic fraction, the activity could
be assigned to a major broad peak in the ELSD trace. For preparative isolation, the
70% EtOH extract was partitioned between n-butanol and water. Separation of the n-butanol-soluble fraction by centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC), followed
by preparative HPLC on RP-18 and HILIC columns afforded a series of bidesmosidic glycosides
of echinocystic acid bearing a fatty acid residue attached to the glycosidic moiety
at C-28. The main components were identified as azafrines 1 and 2 [1].
Saffron saponins significantly inhibited TNF-α/IFN-γ-induced secretion of RANTES in
human HaCaT cells at 1 μM (p < 0.001). Some of them further lowered TNF-α/IFN-γ-induced
gene expression.
Saffron corm extracts and their saponin constituents may have a potential for the
development of new cosmetic and/or medicinal products against inflammatory skin conditions.
Fig. 1
