Botanical illustration: a grid of saffron crocus flowers showing their three crimson stigmas, some drawn as line studies and some fully coloured

Saffron and mood: what the trials in teens and adults actually show

Saffron is the dried stigma of the Crocus sativus flower. It has three thousand years of history in Persian food and medicine, and over the last decade it has become the most studied food ingredient for mood. This article walks through the trials of one standardised extract, affron, made by Pharmactive in Spain and standardised to its crocins and safranal, because it is the extract with the most placebo-controlled trials and the only one with a trial in teenagers.

The teen trial

In 2018 Lopresti and colleagues published a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 80 young people aged 12 to 16 with mild to moderate anxiety or depressive symptoms; 68 completed it. Participants took 14 mg of affron twice a day, or placebo, for 8 weeks. On the youth self-report version of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale, total internalising symptoms fell 33% in the saffron group against 17% on placebo (p = 0.029), with improvements on the separation anxiety, social phobia and depression subscales. Parent-rated scores fell 40% against 26% (p = 0.026), although the parent ratings were otherwise inconsistent. The extract was well tolerated. (Lopresti et al., Journal of Affective Disorders, 2018, PMID 29510352.)

Two honest notes. The trial was in 12 to 16 year olds, not younger children, and there is no placebo-controlled trial of this extract in children under 12. And "internalising symptoms" is the scale's word for anxious and low-mood feelings, measured by questionnaire.

The adult trials

  • 128 adults with low mood, 4 weeks. 28 mg a day improved Profile of Mood States scores against placebo (p < 0.001, d = 1.10). 22 mg a day did nothing. (Kell et al., Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2017, PMID 28735826.)
  • 202 adults with low mood, 12 weeks. On 28 mg a day, 72.3% achieved at least a 7-point drop in the DASS-21 depression score against 54.3% on placebo (p = 0.010). The effect size was modest (d = 0.39) and the placebo response was large. (Journal of Nutrition, 2025, PMID 40414301.)
  • 139 adults on antidepressants, 8 weeks. Added to the medication, 14 mg twice a day cut clinician-rated depression scores by 41% against 21% on placebo (p = 0.001); the patients' own ratings did not separate from placebo. (Lopresti et al., Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2019, PMID 31475623.)
  • 86 women in perimenopause, 12 weeks. 14 mg twice a day improved the psychological score of the Greene Climacteric Scale against placebo (p = 0.032), with anxiety and depression scores down 33% and 32% from baseline. (Lopresti and Smith, Journal of Menopausal Medicine, 2021, PMID 34463070.)
  • 62 active adults, 6 weeks. No overall difference from placebo. (Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2022, PMID 35813851.) A null trial belongs in the count.

What the meta-analyses say

Pooled across many different saffron extracts, mostly in adults with diagnosed depression and mostly from Iran: Hausenblas 2013 found a large effect against placebo in five trials (effect size 1.62); Tóth 2019 pooled nine trials (Hedges' g 0.891 against placebo, and non-inferior to antidepressants); Marx and colleagues at Deakin University pooled 23 studies in 2019 (g 0.99 for depressive symptoms, 0.95 for anxiety) and found evidence of publication bias. (PMIDs 24299602, 30036891, 31135916.)

The regulator's view

In 2021 the European Food Safety Authority assessed a proposed claim that affron "contributes to maintain a healthy mood". It found the extract well characterised, noted one positive 4-week study, said the result had not been replicated at that time and concluded the evidence was insufficient. Two larger trials have been published since. That is the state of play: a real, replicated, modest effect in adults; one good trial in teenagers; nothing yet in younger children. (EFSA Journal, 2021, PMID 34249157.)

This article reports published research for parents and adults who want to read it for themselves. It is not medical advice, it does not describe or recommend any product, and it never replaces a conversation with your GP or your child's clinicians.

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