Saffron Is An Effective Treatment for Mild Depression
Saffron, the expensive yellow spice derived from the plant Crocus sativus, was the subject of a recent meta-analysis in the journal Human Psychopharmacology. The meta-analysis included six studies of a total of 230 adult outpatients with major depressive disorder. In two of these studies, 30mg/day of saffron extract was as effective as 20mg/day of the antidepressant fluoxetine and 100mg/day imipramine for the treatment of mild to moderate depression had been in other studies.
Saffron is suggested to have anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiplatelet effects, and current clinical trials are exploring whether it could prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease.
The current study was an effort to systematically analyze clinical trials on saffron to establish treatment parameters such as dosage in addition to safety information.
