Petal and Stigma of Crocus sativus L. in the Treatment of Depression: A Pilot Double - blind Randomized Trial

A double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in the treatment of anxiety and depression.

BACKGROUND Depression and anxiety are prevalent serious psychiatric disorders. Several drugs are used to treat these conditions but these are often associated with serious side effects. For this reason alternative therapies, including herbal medication such as saffron, have been proposed. We aimed to assess the effects of saffron extract for the treatment of anxiety and depression using a 12-we...

Comparison of Crocus sativus L. and imipramine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: A pilot double-blind randomized trial

Comparison of Crocus sativus L. and imipramine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: A pilot double-blind randomized trial [ISRCTN45683816]

BACKGROUND The morbidity and mortality associated with depression are considerable and continue to increase. Depression currently ranks fourth among the major causes of disability worldwide, after lower respiratory infections, prenatal conditions, and HIV/AIDS. Crocus sativus L. is used to treat depression. Many medicinal plants textbooks refer to this indication whereas there is no evidence-ba...

Hydro-alcoholic extract of Crocus sativus L. versus fluoxetine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot trial.

Depressive disorders are very common in clinical practice, with approximately 11.3 of all adults afflicted during any a year. Saffron is the world's most expensive spice and apart from its traditional value as a food additive, recent studies indicate several therapeutic effects for saffron. It is used for depression in Persian traditional medicine. Our objective was to compare the efficacy of h...

Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of Crocus sativus L. stigma and petal extracts in mice

BACKGROUND Crocus sativus L. (saffron) is used in folk medicine, for example as an antiedematogenic agent. We aimed to evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity of saffron extracts in mice. RESULTS We used aqueous and ethanolic maceration extracts of Crocus sativus L. stigma and petals. Antinociceptive activity was examined using the hot plate and writhing tests. The effect ...

Saffron (Crocus sativus) versus duloxetine for treatment of patients with fibromyalgia: A randomized double-blind clinical trial

Objective: Saffron was found efficient and safe in treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, in particular depression. We compared the efficacy of saffron with duloxetine in treatment of patients with fibromyalgia. Materials and Methods: In this double-blind parallel-group clinical trial, outpatients with fibromyalgia were randomized to receive either saffron 15 mg or duloxetine 30 mg starting w...