Abstract

Objectives Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) has been widely used in traditional medicine as a treatment of nervous disorders. Saffron as an antioxidant can be considered effective for treatment of oxidative stress in ischemia stroke. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role of aqueous extract of saffron in reducing oxidative stress in ischemic strokes patients. Methods Forty patients with acute ischemic stroke were randomly divided into two groups including control group and saffron group. During 4 days of experiment, control group received routine stroke care and saffron group received routine care plus capsule of saffron 400 mg/day (200 mg twice per day). Then, two groups were compared using the National Institute of Health Stoke Scale (NIHSS) and serum oxidative stress biomarkers, at the time of hospital admission and 4 days later as well. Results On the fourth day after ischemic stroke onset, antioxidant enzymes activities and glutathione (GSH) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels were higher in the saffron group compared to the control group, while malondialdehyde (MDA) level was lower. In addition, the severity of stroke, based on the NIHSS scores, was significantly reduced after 4 days in the saffron group. The severity of stroke was negatively correlated with the levels of GSH and TAC and positively correlated with MDA level. Conclusions Saffron has modulatory effects on ischemic-induced oxidative stress due to its free radical scavenging and antioxidant properties. Thus, saffron extract can be considered as a potential candidate therapy of the ischemic brain.