SynthesisNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2020
Effects of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) on cognitive function. A systematic review of RCTs.
Synthesis in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mapping new pharmacological interventions for cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of vitamin E with and without saffron on the sexual function in women of reproductive age with sexual dysfunction: a randomized controlled trial.BMC women's health · 2024Trial
- Trial
- A comprehensive systematic review of human trials investigating herbal treatments for Alzheimer's disease and dementia.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2026Review
- Targeting pathological chemokines in CVD: the role of saffron on CCL2 and CXCL8.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Review
- Medicinal Plants for Child Mental Health: Clinical Insights, Active Compounds, and Perspectives for Rational Use.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- First Insights Into the LC-HRMS Profiling and Biological Activities ofFood science & nutrition · 2025Article
- Integrative effects of saffron and physical activity on endurance performance, quality of life, cognitive, emotional, and metabolic outcomes in age-related and neurodegenerative diseases.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Characterization of saffron from different origins by HS-GC-IMS and authenticity identification combined with deep learning.Food chemistry: X · 2024Article
- Article
- Oral administration of crocin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles inhibits neuroinflammation in a rat model of epileptic seizures by activating SIRT1 expression.Research in pharmaceutical sciences · 2024Article
- Nutritional Support of Crocin on Neurobehavioral Disabilities Induced by Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy in Rats.Neurochemical research · 2024Article
- Saffron (Nutrients · 2022Review
- Crocins for Ischemic Stroke: A Review of Current Evidence.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
- Genomics as a Clinical Decision Support Tool for Identifying and Addressing Modifiable Causes of Cognitive Decline and Improving Outcomes: Proof of Concept Support for This Personalized Medicine Strategy.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Article
- The effects of twenty-one nutrients and phytonutrients on cognitive function: A narrative review.Journal of clinical and translational research · 2021Review
- The neuropsychotropic effects ofAvicenna journal of phytomedicineReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionImprovement of cognitive function may be desirable for healthy individuals and clinically beneficial for those with cognitive impairment such as from Alzheimer's disease (AD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the cognitive effects of oral saffron intake, in patients with MCI/AD and/or in non-demented individuals, by following the PRISMA guidelines.
methodsWe performed a literature search on MedLine, Cochrane library, and ClinicalTrials.gov to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of oral saffron administration in patients with MCI/AD and/or in non-demented individuals.
resultsFive studies (enrolling 325 individuals) met our inclusion criteria. Four studies included patients with MCI/AD, and one study included cognitively normal individuals. Saffron was well-tolerated in all groups. Regarding cognitively impaired patients, scores on Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale or Mini mental state examination were significantly better when saffron was compared with placebo and did not differ significantly when saffron was compared with donepezil or memantine. Saffron effects on functional status were similar with its effects on cognition.
conclusionsSaffron was shown to be equally effective to common symptomatic drugs for MCI/AD and resulted in no difference in the incidence of side effects, when compared with placebo or drugs. The promising results should be seen cautiously, since the evidence was derived from studies with potentially high risk of bias (ROB). RCTs with larger sample sizes and low ROB are required to definitively assess the potential role of saffron as an MCI/AD treatment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.