June 16, 2005 – The results of two recent clinical trials indicate that saffron may be an effective treatment for depression.
In both cases, they were randomized, double-blind, 6-week clinical trials involving 40 subjects with mild to moderate clinical depression. In one of the trials, researchers compared the effects of a saffron extract to those of a placebo1. The results indicate that saffron is significantly more effective than placebo in relieving symptoms of depression. In the other case, the effects of saffron extract were compared to those of fluoxetine, better known as Prozac.®2. The saffron has been shown to be as effective as the medicine.
Although these are preliminary trials conducted with a small number of subjects, the authors stress that their results justify further research by conducting larger trials.
For the moment, we do not know the mechanism by which saffron would exert an antidepressant action. The trials having been carried out in Iran, it should be noted that in traditional Persian medicine, depression is commonly treated with this spice. On the other hand, classical herbalism attributes to it both sedative and tonic virtues for the digestive system as well as for the central nervous system.
Composed of dried stigmas of the flowers of Crocus sativus, saffron is probably the most expensive spice in the world. At the rate of three stigmas per flower, it takes 150,000 flowers to make about 200 g of dried saffron.
In the tests reported here, a hydro-alcoholic extract (1:15) dehydrated and placed in capsules at a rate of 15 mg each was used. No adverse effects were observed.
Although there are rumors that saffron is poisonous at relatively low doses, Mexican researchers studying anti-cancer properties3 of this spice claim that an adult would need to consume several hundred grams of it before experiencing any inconvenience. It is believed that this error stems from a confusion between the Crocus sativus, from which saffron is collected, and another crocus, the colchicum, which is botanically very close and very toxic, even in small doses.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
1. Akhondzadeh S, Tahmacebi-For N, et al.Crocus sativus L. in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial.Phytother Res. 2005 Feb; 19 (2): 148-51.
2. Noorbala AA, Akhondzadeh S, et al. Hydro-alcoholic extract of Crocus sativus L. versus fluoxetine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot trial.J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Feb 28; 97 (2): 281-4. Epub 2005 Jan 6.
3. Abdullaev FI, Espinosa-Aguirre JJ. Biomedical properties of saffron and its potential use in cancer therapy and chemoprevention trials.Cancer Detect Prev. 2004; 28 (6): 426-32.