Effect of Saffron (Crocus Satious L.) as an Add-On Therapy to Sertraline in Mild to Moderate Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Double Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is known as the most prevalent anxiety disorder. Saffron has been previously approved as an effective adjuvant therapy in depression and might alleviate GAD symptoms.

The effect of saffron on weight and lipid profile: A systematic review, meta‐analysis, and dose–response of randomized clinical trials

“…and (c) studies that evaluated the effect of saffron in combination with other foods and supplements (n = 2). Fourteen articles (18 arms) representing 788 participants (Abedimanesh et al, 2017;Azimi, Ghiasvand, Feizi, Hariri, & Abbasi, 2014;Fadai et al, 2014;Gout et al, 2010;Jafarnia et al, 2017;Javandoost et al, 2017;Kermani, Kazemi, et al, 2017;Kermani, Zebarjadi, et al, 2017;Mansoori et al, 2011;Milajerdi et al, 2018;Modaghegh, Shahabian, Esmaeili, Rajbai, & Hosseinzadeh, 2008;Mohamadpour, Ayati, Parizadeh, Rajbai, & Hosseinzadeh, 2013;Nikbakht-Jam et al, 2016;Sepahi et al, 2018) met our inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis.…”

“…The range for the doses of saffron administered in studies included in this review was 5 to 1,000 mg/day, and no major adverse events or toxic reactions were reported. None of the studies included in this review provided further information on the safety profile of saffron or crocin to aid their use as a clinical therapeutic agent (Abedimanesh et al, 2017;Azimi et al, 2014;Fadai et al, 2014;Gout et al, 2010;Jafarnia et al, 2017;Javandoost et al, 2017;Kermani, Kazemi, et al, 2017;Kermani, Zebarjadi, et al, 2017;Mansoori et al, 2011;Milajerdi et al, 2018;Modaghegh et al, 2008;Mohamadpour et al, 2013;Nikbakht-Jam et al, 2016;Sepahi et al, 2018). The quality of the evidence identified limits recommendation of saffron for clinical management.…”

“…Characteristics of eligible studies are shown in Table 1. Most studies were conducted in Iran (Abedimanesh et al, 2017;Azimi et al, 2014;Fadai et al, 2014;Jafarnia et al, 2017;Javandoost et al, 2017;Kermani, Kazemi, et al, 2017;Kermani, Zebarjadi, et al, 2017;Mansoori et al, 2011;Milajerdi et al, 2018;Modaghegh et al, 2008;Mohamadpour et al, 2013;Nikbakht-Jam et al, 2016;Sepahi et al, 2018) and one in France (Gout et al, 2010). The sample size of the included studies ranged from 20 to 81 individuals with mean age of 43 years in intervention groups and 45 years in control groups.…”

“…The results of the quality assessment of included studies are provided in Table 2. Four arms have fair quality (Modaghegh et al, 2008;Mohamadpour et al, 2013;Nikbakht-Jam et al, 2016), one has poor quality , and 13 have good quality (Abedimanesh et al, 2017;Fadai et al, 2014;Gout et al, 2010;Jafarnia et al, 2017;Javandoost et al, 2017;Kermani, Kazemi, et al, 2017;Kermani, Zebarjadi, et al, 2017;Mansoori et al, 2011;Milajerdi et al, 2018;Sepahi et al, 2018). Most studies demonstrated adequate quality for key factors.…”

“…Six arms providing a total of 299 participants (intervention = 164 and control = 135) reported changes in weight as an outcome measure (Abedimanesh et al, 2017;Azimi et al, 2014;Gout et al, 2010;Jafarnia et al, 2017;Kermani, Kazemi, et al, 2017). We combined the results using the random-effects model and showed insignificant reduction in weight following saffron intervention (WMD: −0.43 kg, 95% CI [−1.33, 0.46]; Figure 1).…”