The ocular hypotensive effect of saffron extract in primary open angle glaucoma: a pilot study

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Saeed Saadat²  Shahin Yazdani¹  Mohammad Hossein Jabbarpoor Bonyadi³ 

[1] Ophthalmic Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran;Center of Excellence for Biodiversity, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

关键词: Antioxidative effect;    Hypotensive effect;    Saffron extract;    Open angle glaucoma;   

Others  :  1086002
DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6882-14-399

 received in 2014-10-02, accepted in 2014-10-08,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

The progressive nature of glaucoma and its growing incidence make its therapy an important target for research. The role of oxidative damage in the pathogenesis of glaucoma makes antioxidants such as saffron extract an attractive target for potential clinical use. Herein, we evaluate the effect of aqueous saffron extract on intraocular pressure (IOP) in eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Methods

Thirty-four eyes of 34 clinically stable POAG patients receiving treatment with timolol and dorzolamide eye drops were enrolled in this prospective, comparative, randomized interventional pilot study. Eligible subjects were randomized to receive 30 mg/day aqueous saffron extract orally (17 subjects, 17 eyes) or placebo (17 subjects, 17 eyes) for one month as an adjunct to timolol and dorzolamide. Following treatment, both study groups entered a one-month wash-out period. The main outcome measure was IOP during treatment and after the wash-out period.

Results

Mean baseline IOP was 12.9 ± 3.7 versus 14.0 ± 2.5 mmHg in the saffron and control groups, respectively (p = 0.31). After three weeks of treatment, IOP was significantly decreased to 10.9 ± 3.3 mmHg in the saffron group as compared to 13.5 ± 2.3 mmHg in the control group (p = 0.013). At four weeks, IOP was still significantly lower in the saffron group (10.6 ± 3.0 versus 13.8 ± 2.2 mmHg, p = 0.001). At the end of the wash-out period, IOP was 12.9 ± 3.0 in the saffron group versus 14.2 ± 2.0 mmHg in the control group (p = 0.175). None of the patients experienced side effects during the study and wash-out period.

Conclusions

Oral aqueous saffron extract seems to exert an ocular hypotensive effect in primary open-angle glaucoma. This effect became evident after three weeks of therapy.

The current study was registered at the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) as IRCT201201278832N1.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Jabbarpoor Bonyadi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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