Does Saffron help mood? (Grade B evidence)
Explore current source-reported research for this exact question. These records are separate from the synthesis below; they do not update its grade or establish a recommendation.
Saffron probably helps mood (Grade B, moderate certainty), especially in adults with mild-moderate depression. Studied doses: 30 mg/day.
Exact question reviewed
- Population
- adults with mild-moderate depression
- Intervention
- Saffron · 30 mg/day
- Comparator
- not reported
- Outcome
- mood
- Time horizon
- not reported
Bottom line. Saffron probably helps mood (Grade B, moderate certainty), especially in adults with mild-moderate depression. Studied doses: 30 mg/day. [1 other]
- Direction
- benefit
- Magnitude
- multiple RCTs show benefit for mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms, comparable to low-dose SSRIs in small trials
- Grade
- B
- Certainty
- moderate
- Clinical meaning
- small but potentially useful
- Who it applies to
- adults with mild-moderate depression
- Dose / form studied
- 30 mg/day
- Safety
- not assessed
- The one limitation
- Claim-specific limitation details are not available in this public record.
Reviewed not reported · Evidence last changed · Open evidence record (version 0)
Grade B / moderate: probably helps, and new studies are unlikely to reverse this — but could shrink the effect size.
Who it works for
Best-studied in adults with mild-moderate depression. Recorded studied dose: 30 mg/day.
Evidence
| Study | Design | Role | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saffron, as an adjunct therapy, contributes to relieve depression symptoms: An umbrella meta-analysis. | peer-reviewed | not classified | PMID:34757208 |
Why this grade
Reasoning trace
The current record stores Grade B at moderate certainty and links 1 publishable source. A claim-specific domain-by-domain grading rationale is not available in this public record, so no reason for upgrading or downgrading is inferred here.
Audit and version
- Claim ID
- ec_saf_mood
- Claim version
- not reported
- Governance
- legacy, not verified
- Clinician review
- Not yet reviewed by a licensed clinician
- Last evidence search
- not reported
- Last editorial review
- not verified
Dose & form
Studied intake: 30 mg/day.
People say · Evidence shows
“saffron is a natural antidepressant that works as well as medication”
Evidence: Grade B — multiple RCTs show benefit for mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms, comparable to low-dose SSRIs in small trials.
How it stacks up for mood
- Saffron vs Vitamin D for mood — Vitamin D Grade C
- Saffron vs St. John's Wort for mood — St. John's Wort Grade B
- Saffron vs 5-HTP for mood — 5-HTP Grade C
- Saffron vs N-Acetylcysteine for mood — N-Acetylcysteine Grade C
- Saffron vs Folate for mood — Folate Grade —
- Saffron vs Vitamin C for mood — Vitamin C Grade —
- All interventions graded for mood →
Grade history
- B → BCorrection by Claude (gold-standard provenance sweep): live Postgres source drift replaced with the verified seed source set [pmid:34757208] details →
- B → BMerged additional source by Claude (gold-standard provenance sweep): a distinct, independently-verified paper ("Saffron, as an adjunct thera details →
Re-review cadence: every 12 months (Grade A/B) · methodology v1.
Frequently asked
How long does Saffron take to work for mood?
This record does not report a studied onset time for Saffron and mood. Do not assume a typical timeframe.
What dose was used in studies of Saffron for mood?
The recorded studied dose for Saffron and mood is 30 mg/day. This is a source detail, not a dose recommendation.
Does Saffron work for mood if I'm not deficient?
The recorded studied population is adults with mild-moderate depression. This field alone does not show whether deficiency or baseline status changes the effect.
Saffron or the next-best alternative for mood?
See the compare block above for the head-to-head with the most-cited alternative. Grade + certainty differences matter more than any single trial.
Related
What this is — and is not
- Evidence description
- multiple RCTs show benefit for mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms, comparable to low-dose SSRIs in small trials
- Substrate's interpretation
- The current reviewed record assigns Grade B at moderate certainty. A domain-by-domain rationale is shown only when recorded.
- Discuss with a clinician
- If you're on medication or have a condition that changes the calculus, bring the interaction & population blocks above to your pharmacist or prescriber before deciding.
- Individualized medical advice
- Not provided here or on any Substrate surface (API, agent tool, embed) — see YMYL policy.
Cite this page
Citation is encouraged. The proposed reuse license is CC-BY-4.0; status: pending-governance-ratification.
Plain-text citation
Substrate. Does Saffron help mood? (Grade B). https://evidencebased.info/interventions/saffron/mood. Updated 2026-07-16.
BibTeX
@misc{substrate_rventionssaffronmood,
author = {Substrate editorial},
title = {Does Saffron help mood?},
year = {2026},
url = {https://evidencebased.info/interventions/saffron/mood},
note = {Grade B, evidencebased.info}
}Found something wrong on this page? Report an error →
Current source-reported research
Membership uses admitted intervention and measured-outcome associations for this exact question. Different populations, preparations, comparators and timepoints remain separate. No pooling or update to the synthesis is asserted.