Full profile
| Also known as | Crocus sativus, affron, Safr'Inside |
|---|---|
| Best for | Stress resilience on high-pressure days · Mood and emotional balance · Restful sleep and indirect next-day clarity |
| Evidence grade | Grade C · Limited: early or small human trials |
| Studied dose range | 28 mg/day of a standardized extract (28 mg once or 14 mg twice daily), e.g. affron at ≥3.5% Lepticrosalides. |
| Time to effect | Cumulative: mood/stress effects emerge around 2 weeks and are clearer by 4–6 weeks. |
| Best form | Branded standardized extracts such as affron (Pharmactive) or Safr'Inside (Activ'Inside). |
| Food sources | Culinary saffron (far below the 28 mg standardized dose) |
Evidence, honestly graded
Double-blind RCTs support mood, stress, and sleep at 28 mg/day affron (Lopresti 2021), and meta-analyses pooling the mood trials report improvements in low-mood and stress scores versus placebo with good tolerability. Reviewed 2026-09-14: effects are smaller in newer, larger trials than in the early, mostly single-centre studies. A 12-week affron trial in 202 adults, co-authored by staff of the extract's manufacturer, found a modest improvement in low-mood scores (Cohen's d 0.39) but no effect on anxiety, stress, or restorative sleep (Lopresti 2025), and a publicly funded 6-week trial in 51 adults did not improve its primary mood composite. Reviewed again 2026-09-17 against a GRADE-assessed meta-analysis of 34 trials in 1,769 adults (Mahmoudi 2026), which sharpens where the mood evidence sits: self-rated depression and anxiety scores improved, but the clinician-rated scales (HDRS, HARS) and the POMS did not, and heterogeneity was above 90% on both pooled outcomes. Mood evidence is roughly B on self-report and weaker on clinician-rated measures, not A; direct healthy-adult cognition data are thin and mostly extrapolated from clinical populations, so the cognition grade is honestly C.
See the full grading rubric (study type, replication, population match, and dose adequacy) in The Evidence Standard.
What the benefits research does and doesn't support, in depth: Saffron Benefits: What the Research Shows for Mood, Stress, and Sleep.
219 natural health products with an active licence in Health Canada's LNHPD list Saffron as a medicinal ingredient.
That makes Saffron a recognized, licensable medicinal ingredient in Canada, regulated by Health Canada's Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate, which issues each licensed natural health product a Natural Product Number (NPN). Search the LNHPD to verify.
Side effects
- Generally well tolerated at 28 mg
- Occasional mild GI upset, headache, or drowsiness
Who should avoid it or check first
- Pregnant or breastfeeding (uterine stimulant at high dose)
- Bipolar disorder without review
Interactions
- May add to the effects of serotonergic antidepressants (SSRIs/SNRIs/MAOIs); use caution and discuss with a clinician
Stacks well with
Use caution stacking with
- High-dose pairing with prescription serotonergic drugs without clinician guidance
What to look for on a label
- Frame as mood and stress resilience, not focus or memory. That matches the licensed claim space in Canada.
- Specify the branded form and marker (e.g. "affron, standardized ≥3.5% Lepticrosalides, 28 mg").
References
- Mahmoudi R, Mohammadi-Sartang M, Servatyari K, Rafieipour N (2026). Nutritional Neuroscience, 29(7):816–837Beck Depression Inventory −4.39 and Beck Anxiety Inventory −5.06 versus placebo, both with heterogeneity above 90%; no significant effect on the clinician-rated HDRS or HARS or on the POMS. Certainty rated moderate.
- Lopresti 2021, Sleep Medicine: affron RCT. Evening affron (28 mg) improved sleep quality and morning cortisol/melatonin in adults with poor sleep. PMID 34438361; doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2021.08.001. Educational, not a product claim.
- Hausenblas 2013, J Integrative Medicine: meta-analysis. Saffron improved depression scores vs placebo across RCTs in clinical populations. PMID 24299602; doi:10.3736/jintegrmed2013056. Educational, not a product claim.
- Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Marx W, et al. (2025). The Journal of Nutrition, 155(7)Greater improvement in low-mood scores than placebo (Cohen's d = 0.39); no between-group differences in anxiety, stress, or restorative sleep.
- INRAE saffron extract RCT (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2025). Publicly funded 6-week trial in 51 healthy adults with subclinical low mood, anxiety, fatigue or stress: no significant effect on the primary composite of depression, anxiety and fatigue scores; one secondary mental-health perception score improved. PMID 41047129.
Grades and studied doses are our conservative reading of the human research, shown for education. They are not product claims, and a studied dose is not a recommended dose.
Revision history
Every change to this ingredient's evidence status, dated and explained. The full cross-library log lives at Evidence Updates.
- 2026-09-17Citation review
Added a 2026 GRADE-assessed meta-analysis of 34 trials in 1,769 adults and sharpened how this profile describes the mood evidence. Self-rated depression and anxiety scores improved; the clinician-rated scales and the POMS did not, and heterogeneity was above 90% on both pooled outcomes. The mood evidence is now described as stronger on self-report than on clinician-rated measures. The cognition grade is unchanged at C.
- 2026-09-14Citation review
Cognition grade held at C. Two 2025 trials added: a 202-person trial found a modest benefit on low-mood scores, and a smaller publicly funded trial missed its primary mood endpoint. Effects are shrinking as trials improve, so the mood evidence stays short of A.
- 2026-07-05New profile
Initial profile published at Grade C: RCTs support mood, stress, and sleep at 28 mg/day affron, but direct healthy-adult cognition data are thin and mostly extrapolated from clinical populations.
See how Saffron compares on grade, dose, and goal in the Evidence Explorer.
