Crocin has plentiful pharmacological effects, but its role in osteogenesis differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) is unexplored. This study explored the effect of crocin on osteogenesis differentiation, in order to provide evidence for its clinical application. In cell experiments, human BMSCs (hBMSCs) were induced by osteogenesis differentiation medium or crocin. In animal experiments, steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SANFH) rat models was established using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) plus methylprednisolone (MPS), and then treated with crocin. The osteogenesis differentiation capacity of hBMSCs was analyzed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alizarin red S staining. Histopathological changes in rat femoral head tissues were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The expression levels of RUNX2, COL1A1, OCN, and GSK-3β in hBMSCs and rat femoral head tissues were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or western blot (WB) analysis. ALP and alizarin red S staining demonstrated that LAP activity and calcium nodules were increased in hBMSCs treated with crocin. From H&E staining results, femoral head tissues of SANFH models showed typical osteonecrosis, which could be ameliorated by crocin. WB and qRT-PCR assays detected that the expression levels of RUNX2, COL1A1, and OCN in hBMSCs and femoral head tissues of models were obviously increased after crocin treatment, while GSK-3β phosphorylation was reduced. In general, the action of crocin was concentration-dependent. Crocin might be beneficial to the recovery of SANFH through accelerating osteogenesis differentiation of BMSCs, which might be a novel therapy for related diseases.

番红花具有丰富的药理作用，但其在骨髓间充质干细胞（BMSCs）成骨分化中的作用尚待探索。这项研究探索了番红花对成骨分化的影响，以为其临床应用提供证据。在细胞实验中，通过成骨分化培养基或番红花诱导人BMSC（hBMSC）。在动物实验中，使用脂多糖（LPS）和甲基强的松龙（MPS）建立了类固醇诱导的股骨头骨坏死（SANFH）大鼠模型，然后用番红花苷处理。通过碱性磷酸酶（ALP）和茜素红S染色分析了hBMSCs的成骨分化能力。通过苏木精和曙红（H＆E）染色观察大鼠股骨头组织的组织病理学变化。RUNX2的表达水平 hBMSCs和大鼠股骨头组织中的COL1A1，OCN和GSK-3β通过定量实时聚合酶链反应（qRT-PCR）或蛋白质印迹（WB）分析进行测量。ALP和茜素红S染色表明，用番红花处理的hBMSCs中LAP活性和钙结节增加。从H＆E染色结果来看，SANFH模型的股骨头组织显示出典型的骨坏死，而红花红素可以改善这种坏死。WB和qRT-PCR检测显示，番红花处理后，模型的hBMSC和股骨头组织中RUNX2，COL1A1和OCN的表达水平明显升高，而GSK-3β磷酸化水平降低。通常，番红花的作用是浓度依赖性的。番红花可能通过促进BMSCs的成骨分化来促进SANFH的恢复，