Crocus Sativus Tepals Water Extract in Obesity and Prediabetes

NCT ID: NCT07261475

Last Updated: 2025-12-23

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

NOT_YET_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

EARLY_PHASE1

Total Enrollment

20 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2026-01-31

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

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The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the acute effects of ingestion of a cold aqueous extract of Crocus sativus tepals on postprandial glycemia and other indicators of metabolic health in patients with obesity and/or prediabetes. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does the ingestion of Crocus sativus tepals cold aqueous extract prior to a meal improve the glycemic response to a standard meal?
* How does the ingestion of Crocus sativus tepals aqueous extract prior to a meal impact insulin levels and other markers of metabolic health?
* Does the ingestion of Crocus sativus tepals cold aqueous extract prior to a meal increase the resting energy expanditure?

Researchers will compare Crocus sativus tepals cold aqueous extract to cold water.

The participants will visit the Faculty twice - on one visit they will ingest Crocus sativus tepals cold aqueous extract and on the other cold water (in random order) 5 minutes prior to a standard meal of 100 g of white bread.

On each visit, anthropometric measurements will be performed upon arrival. Blood samples will be collected 3 times, preceeded by resting metabolic rate and blood pressure measurements: at baseline in fasted conditions, and 60 minutes and 120 minutes after consuming the bread.

There will be an at least 7 days wash-out period between the two visits.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Prediabetes Obesity & Overweight

Keywords

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Crocus sativus tepals Glycaemia Oral glucose tolerance test resting metabolism blood pressure insulin

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Crocus sativus

Crocus sativus tepals cold aqueous extract

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Crocus sativus tepals cold aqueous extract

Intervention Type BIOLOGICAL

2 g of Crocus sativus tepals will be infused in 200 mL of water overnight at 4 °C, resulting cold aqueous extract corresponds to 40 mg GAE of polyphenols

water

cold water

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

cold water

Intervention Type BIOLOGICAL

200 mL of cold water, kept overnight at 4 °C

Interventions

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Crocus sativus tepals cold aqueous extract

2 g of Crocus sativus tepals will be infused in 200 mL of water overnight at 4 °C, resulting cold aqueous extract corresponds to 40 mg GAE of polyphenols

Intervention Type BIOLOGICAL

cold water

200 mL of cold water, kept overnight at 4 °C

Intervention Type BIOLOGICAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Obesity type I (ITM \> 30 kg/m2) and/or
* Prediabetes (fasting glucose levels 6,1 - 6,9 mmol/L)

Exclusion Criteria

* Gastrointestinal diseases
* Diabetes mellitus of any type
* Pregnant or lactating, without contraception
* Serious clinical conditions such as cancer, severe infections, severe psychiatric disorders, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases
* Participation in another clinical trial 3 months prior to the study
* ITM greater than 35 kg/m2
* Celiac disease of gluten intolerance
* electronic implant
Minimum Eligible Age

40 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Università Politecnica delle Marche

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Primorska

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Nina Mohorko

Associate professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Nina Mohorko, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University pf Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences

Locations

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University pf Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences

Izola, , Slovenia

Site Status

Countries

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Slovenia

Central Contacts

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Nina Mohorko, PhD

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +386 5 66 35 818

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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Nina Mohorko, PhD

Role: primary

Ana Petelin, PhD

Role: backup

References

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Barik SK, Sengupta S, Arya R, Kumar S, Kim JJ, Chaurasia R. Dietary Polyphenols as Potential Therapeutic Agents in Type 2 Diabetes Management: Advances and Opportunities. Adv Nutr. 2025 Jan;16(1):100346. doi: 10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100346. Epub 2024 Nov 19.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 39566886 (View on PubMed)

Omidi A, Riahinia N, Montazer Torbati MB, Behdani MA. Hepatoprotective effect of Crocus sativus (saffron) petals extract against acetaminophen toxicity in male Wistar rats. Avicenna J Phytomed. 2014 Sep;4(5):330-6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25386395 (View on PubMed)

Moratalla-Lopez N, Bagur MJ, Lorenzo C, Salinas MEMR, Alonso GL. Bioactivity and Bioavailability of the Major Metabolites of Crocus sativus L. Flower. Molecules. 2019 Aug 2;24(15):2827. doi: 10.3390/molecules24152827.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31382514 (View on PubMed)

Montoro P, Maldini M, Luciani L, Tuberoso CI, Congiu F, Pizza C. Radical scavenging activity and LC-MS metabolic profiling of petals, stamens, and flowers of Crocus sativus L. J Food Sci. 2012 Aug;77(8):C893-900. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2012.02803.x. Epub 2012 Jul 18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22809329 (View on PubMed)

Menghini L, Leporini L, Vecchiotti G, Locatelli M, Carradori S, Ferrante C, Zengin G, Recinella L, Chiavaroli A, Leone S, Brunetti L, Orlando G. Crocus sativus L. stigmas and byproducts: Qualitative fingerprint, antioxidant potentials and enzyme inhibitory activities. Food Res Int. 2018 Jul;109:91-98. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2018.04.028. Epub 2018 Apr 16.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29803496 (View on PubMed)

Bursac B, Bellachioma L, Gligorovska L, Jovanovic M, Teofilovic A, Vrataric M, Vojnovic Milutinovic D, Albacete A, Martinez-Melgarejo PA, Morresi C, Damiani E, Bacchetti T, Djordjevic A. Crocus sativus tepals extract suppresses subcutaneous adipose tissue hypertrophy and improves systemic insulin sensitivity in mice on high-fat diet. Biofactors. 2024 Jul-Aug;50(4):828-844. doi: 10.1002/biof.2043. Epub 2024 Feb 6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 38318672 (View on PubMed)

Bellachioma L, Morresi C, Albacete A, Martinez-Melgarejo PA, Ferretti G, Giorgini G, Galeazzi R, Damiani E, Bacchetti T. Insights on the Hypoglycemic Potential of Crocus sativus Tepal Polyphenols: An In Vitro and In Silico Study. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 May 24;24(11):9213. doi: 10.3390/ijms24119213.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 37298165 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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ZAFRAN-2025

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id