The protective effect of crocin against paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity

Paclitaxel-based chemotherapy is an important treatment option. However, paclitaxel is known to have neurotoxic side effects. This study investigated the neuroprotective effect of crocin against paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity in human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell lines. A series of tests were performed to assess aspects such as cell viability, oxidative stress, genotoxicity, and apoptosis. The results showed that paclitaxel decreased cell viability and increased LDH levels, while the combination of paclitaxel and crocin significantly increased cell viability and decreased LDH levels compared to the control. In addition, this combination caused an increase in total antioxidant capacity and a decrease in total oxidation status. Increased paclitaxel-induced micronuclei and sister chromatid formations were alleviated by adding crocin. Furthermore, paclitaxel plus crocin most impressively activated caspase-3/7 gene expression. The results suggested that crocin had a promising neuroprotective effect against paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity by reducing oxidative stress and genotoxicity and upregulating pro-apoptotic pathway.