Quick Summary
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What are the health benefits of saffron supplements?
Small studies with saffron extracts have shown very modest and limited benefits for sleep, anxiety, and depression, and for visual acuity in people with macular degeneration. There is very preliminary evidence of a benefit in Alzheimer's disease. Saffron extract may also reduce snacking, but not body weight. More research is needed to confirm these potential benefits (see What It Does).
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What did ConsumerLab's tests of saffron extracts show?
Our tests revealed large differences in the amounts of key saffron compounds (safranal, picrocrocin, and crocins), ranging more than 50-fold on some measures. One product contained so little picrocrocin as to suggest adulteration. Only 4 of 6 products could be fully Approved for their quality. The cost to get an equivalent amount of safranal (free + bound) ranged from just 9 cents to as much as $2 (see What CL Found and How Products Were Evaluated).
 Among the Approved supplements, CL selected two as its Top Picks for saffron — one providing a high dose and the other a moderate dose.
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What to look for in saffron supplements?
It can be tricky choosing a saffron supplement. A major reason is that they're made of saffron extracts and vary widely in strength (dose) and how they are standardized (see What It Is). For example, some products are standardized to "safranals" or "lepticrosalides" but these terms are not well defined and may not be accurate. Nevertheless, supplements that provide about 14 mg of extract standardized to 2% safranals (free + bound) or 3.5% lepticrosalides, or about 88 mg of extract standardized to 0.3% to 0.4% safranals are most consistent with products used in clinical trials — assuming they contain what they claim, which is not always the case. These doses are typically taken twice daily (see ConsumerTips).
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Saffron supplement safety and side effects:
At standard dosing, significant side effects have not been reported with saffron supplements, but studies have been short-term and safety in children and pregnant or nursing women has not been evaluated. There is a bleeding risk with very high-dose saffron (see Concerns and Cautions).
Products tested in 2023
+— 31 sources
In addition the results of its expert testing, ConsumerLab uses only high-quality, evidence based, information sources. These sources include peer-reviewed studies and information from agencies such as the FDA and USDA, and the National Academy of Medicine. On evolving topics, studies from pre-print journals may be sourced. All of our content is reviewed by medical doctors and doctoral-level experts in pharmacology, toxicology, and chemistry. We continually update and medically review our information to keep our content trustworthy, accurate, and reliable. The following sources are referenced in this article:
- Chyau, Plants 2022
- Garcia-Rodriguez, Food Chem 2017
- Jarukas, Molecules 2022
- Akhondzadeh, BMC Complement Altern Med 2004
- Akhondzadeh, J Clin Pharm Ther, 2010
- Akhondzadeh, Psychopharmacol 2010
- Amadieu, Am J Clin Nutr 2025
- Ayati, BMC Comp Med Ther 2020
- Broadhead, Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2019
- Falsini, Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2010
- Farokhnia, Hum Psychopharmacol 2014
- Gout, Nutr Res 2010
- Hausenblas, J Integr Med 2013
- Jackson, Front Nutr 2021
- Lopresti, Front Nutr 2026
- Lopresti, J Affect Disord 2018
- Lopresti, J Clin Sleep Med 2020
- Lopresti, J Nutr 2025
- Lopresti, J Psychopharmacol 2019
- Lopresti, Sleep Med 2021
- Marangoni, J Transl Med 2013
- Pachikian, Nutrients 2021
- Parsa, J Herb Med 2024
- Piccardi, Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2012
- Pouchieu, Nutrients 2023
- Schuster, Sleep Med X 2025
- Katragunta, Annual Poster Session 2023-2024
- Lead Safe Mama
- Heidari, Cardiovasc Hematol Disord Drug Targets 2022
- Resl Kianbakht, Phytother Res 2011
- Safarinejad, Int J Impot 2010
You must be a member to get the full test results along with ConsumerLab.com recommendations and quality ratings. You will get results for six saffron supplements selected for testing by ConsumerLab.com.
In this comprehensive review, you'll discover: 
- What saffron is and saffron supplements provide any health benefits
- Which saffron supplements passed or failed ConsumerLab's tests of quality
- ConsumerLab's Top Picks for moderate and high-dose saffron supplements based on quality and value
- The clinical evidence for and against saffron supplements for depression and anxiety, insomnia, stress, and anxiety, improving memory and cognition, losing weight, and other proposed uses
- What to look for in saffron extracts, including key compounds such as safranal, picrocrocin, and crocins
- The best way to take saffron supplements
- Safety and potential side effects and drug interactions with saffron supplements
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The "Latest Update" date indicates when new clinical or product information was most recently added. In the full review (available to CL members), the newest information is highlighted in yellow and, if a new product is added, it is footnoted in the results table, showing the date added to the review. The year(s) when testing was completed for the products in the review appears at the end of the Summary section.
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