UAE STUDY ADDS SPICE TO FIGHT AGAINST CANCER
▶ Research indicates extract from saffron prevents the spread of the disease in rats, writes Daniel Bardsley
Saffron has long been a favourite ingredient in Middle East cooking, making dishes richer in colour and flavour. Made from the saffron crocus, which is cultivated in parts of the region, the spice is said to be one of the most expensive in the world.
Now research in the UAE has revealed the plant could have properties that battle cancer.
Scientists at the UAE University have announced results from a study using rats, which suggests that a saffron extract called safranal could help to destroy cancer cells.
“Safranal was stopping cancer from developing and killing the cancer cells,” said Ameera Al Mansoori, a master’s degree student at the university. “It was so clear safranal had an effect.”
Ms Al Mansoori, 25, injected carcinogens into live rats. Then, using a needle that went into their stomachs, she fed some of the rats safranal over several weeks.
To create a control group, other rats injected with carcinogens were not given safranal.
The results found that cancers in the animals that were given the extract retreated, while the disease continued to survive in the second group.
Biochemical tests indicated that safranal stopped the cancer cell cycle, in which cells divide and multiply.
Instead it induced apoptosis, a term given to a natural process where the body initiates a tightly controlled process of cell death.
The findings could lead to safranal being tested for its effectiveness on humans, although any use of it as a treatment, were it to happen, would be unlikely in the near future.
“We need to do more tests,” said Ms Al Mansoori, an Emirati from Ras al Khaimah. “We have other pathways that cancer relies on. We could test that to support my work.”
She completed her first degree at the American University of RAK and wants to study for a PhD. She is planning to write up her research for publication in a scientific journal.
Ms Al Mansoori’s biology and biotechnology master’s degree project was supervised by Amr Amin, a professor of biology at the UAE University.
In a separate study that has recently been published in the journal Scientific Reports, Prof Amin and a team of researchers have detailed a project that indicated safranal could kill human liver cancer cells.
Among the other scientists involved in this study was Dr Kourosh Salehi-Ashtiani, an associate professor of biology at New York University Abu Dhabi.
As with the study on rats, the liver cancer cell research was thought to show that safranal caused apoptosis.
“When normal cells see things are going bad, they go into this suicide mode,” Dr Salehi-Ashtiani said. “We see safranal inducing that. That’s quite good if you’re trying to get rid of cancer cells.”
The local research on safranal adds to other studies on the substance’s anti-cancer properties. A 2014 paper by scientists in Iran found that safranal inhibited the growth of, and induced death in, cancer cells. It concluded that the extract “appears to have potential as a therapeutic agent”.
Safranal joins a growing list of substances tested for anti-cancer effects by UAE scientists.
Research at the UAE University has indicated that extracts of the tree Rhus coriaria, which grows in the Middle East, can kill colon cancer cells and breast cancer cells.
Other laboratory studies at the university have suggested that extracts of the herb marjoram are capable of killing breast cancer cells.
While the recent studies suggest that safranal could have uses against cancer, it typically takes a number of years before results in the laboratory can actually be applied in medicine. And many substances that appear promising in a laboratory setting end up not being effective for people.
In the meantime, Dr Salehi-Ashtiani warned against people eating saffron in the hope it might prevent or cure cancer.
“I don’t recommend people just taking large quantities for the hope of helping them,” he said. “It’s something that requires careful clinical study that needs to be done in the right way. I want to make sure there’s no misconception.”
As with the study on rats, the liver cancer cell research was thought to show that safranal caused apoptosis