krocina in osteoarthritis

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol
June 2020; 19(3):253-263.

Doi

Immunoregulatory Effects of Krocina™, a Herbal Medicine Made of Crocin,
on Osteoarthritis Patients: A Successful Clinical Trial in Iran

Javad Poursamimi1,2, Zhaleh Shariati-Sarabi3,4, Jalil Tavakkol-Afshari2, Seyed Ahmad Mohajeri5,
Mohsen Ghoryani6,7, and Mojgan Mohammadi1,2
1 Allergy Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
2 Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3 Rheumatic Diseases Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
4 Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad University
of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
5 Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University
of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
6 Department of Laboratory Sciences, School of Paramedical Sciences, Torbat-Heydariyeh University
of Medical Sciences, Torbat-Heydariyeh, Iran
7 Research Center of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Torbat-Heydariyeh University
of Medical Sciences, Torbat-Heydariyeh, Iran
Received: 2 November 2019; Received in revised form: 2 December 2019 ; Accepted: 10 December 2019
ABSTRACT
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the major cause of joint pain and disability. This research was planned to
examine the effects of Krocina™, aherbal medicine made of crocin, an ingredient of saffron, in patients
with OA.
Forty patients suffering from OA were enrolled in our study and randomly divided into two groups,
receiving Krocina™ and placebo, and the clinical trial continued for four months.Peripheral blood was
taken from all patients and the percentage ofvarious subsets of T cells in addition to the levels of forkhead
box protein P3 (FOXP3) and interleukin (IL)-17 were measured by flow cytometry technique.
The visualan alog scale (VAS) index analysis decreased significantly in both groups (krocinaTM and
placebo) (p<0.05). Assessment of the C-reactive protein (CRP) level in serum showed a significant decrease
in the krocinaTM group (p<0.05). Moreover, we found a meaningful increase in the percentage of regulatory
T cells (Tregs)cellin samples gathered from Krocina™ group (P=0.02) patients. The mean percentages of T
helper (Th) 17 cellsinthe Krocina™ group and CD8+ T cellsin the placebo group patients were also
meaningfully reduced (p<0.05). The geometric mean fluorescence intensity (GMFI) for IL-17 showed a
significant decrease and increase in Krocina™ and placebo groups, respectively (p<0.05). No noticeable
difference was observed in the percentages of Th cells and GMFI-FOXP3 in either group. Treg/Th17 ratio
was shifted towards Tregscell in Krocina™ group at the end of the intervention.
It is concluded that Krocina™ has immunoregulatory effects on patients with OA, ameliorating the
disease.

Keywords: Clinical trial; Crocin; Immune regulation; Inflammation; Osteoarthritis; T helper cells

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Corresponding Author: Mojgan Mohammadi, PhD;
Allergy Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences,
Mashhad, Iran, Postal Code: 9196773117, Tel: (+98 51)3711 2611,E-mail addresses: Mohammadimzh@mums.ac.ir