Saffron and low mood
What 2 graded rows on saffron agree on for low mood, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the Saffron page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the Saffron page, with its PubMed record.
Your question
Saffron and low mood
2 rows · 253 peopleSplit. 1 row found an improvement and 1 found no difference.
- BGrade B× 1
- DGrade D× 1
- Rows
- 2
- Trials
- 2
- People
- 253
Where they differ
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade B, is a randomized trial of 202 people (2025) and found an improvement.
The row that found an improvement was larger: 202 people, against 51 people for the row that found no difference.
The row that found an improvement ran longer (3 months) than the row that found no difference (6 weeks).
The best grade is B among the row that found an improvement, and D among the row that found no difference.
The rows
1 improved · 1 no difference- BGrade BDepressive symptoms in adults with low mood · Improved
RCT · n 202 · 2025 · Adults aged 18–70 with subclinical depressive symptoms
28 mg/day · 12 weeks
DASS-21 depression scores fell 2.92 points more than with placebo (95% CI −5.13 to −0.71; Cohen's d 0.39); 72.3% vs 54.3% had a clinically meaningful drop. Other secondary outcomes did not differ, and no serious adverse reactions were reported.
- DGrade DCombined depression, anxiety and fatigue score · No difference
RCT · n 51 · 2025 · Healthy adults with subclinical depressive symptoms
Not stated in the abstract · 6 weeks
No effect on the primary composite score (depression, anxiety and fatigue) or on any single symptom score; a self-rated mental-health score (SF-12) changed more over time than with placebo (time × treatment p = 0.04).