The Gut-Brain Connection

Saffron

A fermentation vessel in cross section with saffron threads at the top dissolving into microbial forms and new compound shapes drifting up through amber

What fermenting saffron actually does

Fermentation is one of the oldest techniques in food and one of the least understood. What it means when a botanical is fermented, what is known about saffron's compounds, and...

What fermenting saffron actually does

Fermentation is one of the oldest techniques in food and one of the least understood. What it means when a botanical is fermented, what is known about saffron's compounds, and...

A chromatography column showing separated bands of colour beside a laboratory flask, saffron threads and a certification seal

What a saffron extract is tested for before it ...

Four heavy metals, four aflatoxins, plant alkaloids, pesticide residues and seven microbiological limits. What is on an ingredient specification sheet, which tests run on every batch, and the difference between...

What a saffron extract is tested for before it ...

Four heavy metals, four aflatoxins, plant alkaloids, pesticide residues and seven microbiological limits. What is on an ingredient specification sheet, which tests run on every batch, and the difference between...

A fanned stack of research papers drawn as blank ruled sheets, with saffron threads resting on the top sheet

The most studied saffron extract: what that act...

Most saffron reviews pool a dozen different preparations made in different ways. Eleven randomised, placebo-controlled trials have tested one standardised extract, in more than 1,000 people aged 12 to 77,...

The most studied saffron extract: what that act...

Most saffron reviews pool a dozen different preparations made in different ways. Eleven randomised, placebo-controlled trials have tested one standardised extract, in more than 1,000 people aged 12 to 77,...

Three eras of saffron side by side: an ancient carved vessel, a botanical study of the crocus, and a modern laboratory flask, with crocus flowers growing along the base

Three thousand years of saffron, and where it g...

Saffron appears in both of the great classical catalogues of medicinal plants and in the everyday cooking of five cuisines. A short history, where it is grown today, and why...

Three thousand years of saffron, and where it g...

Saffron appears in both of the great classical catalogues of medicinal plants and in the everyday cooking of five cuisines. A short history, where it is grown today, and why...

A single crimson saffron stigma in a glass of water, its red pigment blooming outward through the water

Why saffron is red, and why it costs what it costs

Crocins make it red, safranal makes it smell like saffron, picrocrocin makes it bitter and proves it is genuine. Plus the arithmetic behind the price: up to 170,000 hand-picked flowers...

Why saffron is red, and why it costs what it costs

Crocins make it red, safranal makes it smell like saffron, picrocrocin makes it bitter and proves it is genuine. Plus the arithmetic behind the price: up to 170,000 hand-picked flowers...

A small balance scale holding a measured pinch of saffron threads on one pan and a saffron crocus flower on the other

How much saffron the research actually used

Twenty-eight milligrams a day of a standardised extract, split 14 in the morning and 14 in the evening, with or without food. In the one trial that also tested 22...

How much saffron the research actually used

Twenty-eight milligrams a day of a standardised extract, split 14 in the morning and 14 in the evening, with or without food. In the one trial that also tested 22...

A row of identical laboratory vials filled to the same exact depth, with one irregular vessel behind them

What a standardised extract actually means

Standardised means a named compound at a stated percentage, assayed on every batch rather than assumed. What the percentage on a saffron label refers to, and the published analysis of...

What a standardised extract actually means

Standardised means a named compound at a stated percentage, assayed on every batch rather than assumed. What the percentage on a saffron label refers to, and the published analysis of...

A magnifying glass over three saffron stigmas showing their flared trumpet ends, beside frayed straight-cut imposter strands

How to tell a real saffron extract from a fake one

Saffron is expensive enough to be worth faking, and once it is a powder you cannot see the difference. One compound, picrocrocin, settles it, and a published analysis used it...

How to tell a real saffron extract from a fake one

Saffron is expensive enough to be worth faking, and once it is a powder you cannot see the difference. One compound, picrocrocin, settles it, and a published analysis used it...

Saffron crocus flowers with three crimson stigmas, a golden halo behind them

Saffron and children: what the research covers,...

Saffron has been eaten for three thousand years and studied in more than twenty randomised trials. One standardised extract carries eleven placebo-controlled trials, including the only one in teenagers. The...

Saffron and children: what the research covers,...

Saffron has been eaten for three thousand years and studied in more than twenty randomised trials. One standardised extract carries eleven placebo-controlled trials, including the only one in teenagers. The...

A saffron crocus flower on the right, with an abstract wave line running across the frame from turbulent to settled

Saffron in perimenopause and after: the 12-week...

Two randomised, placebo-controlled trials of a saffron extract in women in perimenopause and in women aged 50 to 70.

Saffron in perimenopause and after: the 12-week...

Two randomised, placebo-controlled trials of a saffron extract in women in perimenopause and in women aged 50 to 70.

Saffron threads scattered across a deep indigo night sky with a crescent moon low on a warm amber horizon

Saffron and sleep: the two 28-day trials

Two randomised, placebo-controlled trials of a saffron extract in adults with poor sleep, and what they did and did not measure.

Saffron and sleep: the two 28-day trials

Two randomised, placebo-controlled trials of a saffron extract in adults with poor sleep, and what they did and did not measure.

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 ...

Nine placebo-controlled trials of one standardised saffron extract, read honestly: who was studied, at what amount, for how long, and what changed.

Saffron and mood: what the trials in teens and ...

Nine placebo-controlled trials of one standardised saffron extract, read honestly: who was studied, at what amount, for how long, and what changed.