Saffron

Crocus sativus · Saffron extract

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Depressive symptoms¹ Anxiety symptoms² Sleep quality^3–5 Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder^6–8 Cognitive impairment^{3, 9–11} Age-related macular degeneration¹² Premenstrual symptoms¹³	Pregnancy and breastfeeding¹⁴ Anticoagulant use or bleeding disorder¹⁴

Saffron is the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, taken mainly for mood and acting through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective signaling¹⁵. Uses that follow include depressive and anxiety symptoms, sleep, childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cognitive impairment, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and blood glucose. The typical patient is an adult with low mood or subclinical depressive symptoms¹⁶.

Meta-analyses found saffron more effective than placebo for depression and non-inferior to conventional drugs, and it was well tolerated with few side effects³. In subclinical low mood, a 2025 trial found saffron extract lowered depression scores compared with placebo over 12 weeks, though placebo responses were large and secondary outcomes showed no difference¹⁶. In AMD, trials report modest gains in retinal electrical responses^{12, 17}. In a 2025 cell-culture study, a saffron extract protected neural cells from induced senescence by countering oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress; no human trial has tested this. Over 300 products listing saffron are sold, nearly all as capsules; see Form comparison.

For antidepressants, Health Canada labels ask for a practitioner's consultation before use¹⁴.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

67 sources, 49 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources