Investigating the Effect of Crocus sativus (Saffron) Petal Hydro-alcoholicExtract on Ovarian Follicle, Inflammatory Markers, and Antioxidant Enzymes in Mice Model of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Background: saffron petals have traditionally been used to treat a variety of diseases, such as gynecological diseases, primary dysmenorrhea, and premenstrual syndrome. polycystic ovary syndrome (pcos) is a kind of gynecological disease that causes infertility, menopausal and urogenital disorders and saffron petals seem to be an efficient treatment for such disorders. methods: nmri mice (total=60, each group n=12) were divided into control, pcos, and the treatment groups. pcos and treatment groups were injected with testosterone enanthate (te=1 mg/kg). after 4 weeks, the treatment group was treated with saffron petal extract (spe) for 14 days. ovary and blood samples were collected for histological and serological analyses, and expression of nf-κb, nf-κb p65, and iκb genes was analyzed. finally, data were analyzed using one-way anova (p<0.05). results: in this study, the number of corpus luteum decreased in pcos mice (p< 0.001) but increased with spe treatment (p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.001). the number of cystic follicles increased in pcos mice (p<0.001), but decreased with spe treatment (p<0.05, p<0.001). tnfα, il1ß, il6, il18, and crp levels increased in pcos mice (p<0.001), but decreased following spe treatment (p<0.05, p<0.001). glutathione (gsh) and glutathione s-transferase (gst) serum levels decreased in pcos mice (p<0.001), but increased with spe treatment (p<0.05, p<0.001). the transcriptional level (s) of nf-κb, nf-κb p65, iκb genes changed in pcos condition (p<0.001), and were regulated by spe treatment (p<0.05, p<0.01 and p<0.001). conclusion: the present study shows that spe improved the pcos symptoms in mice via increasing antioxidant factors and reducing inflammatory markers in serum.