Saffron Supplements: What the Trials on Libido, Mood and PMS Found

Saffron is the dried stigma of the saffron crocus, a spice also sold as a standardised extract and tested in trials at 30 mg a day. In 74 women with sexual difficulties, it improved desire, lubrication and satisfaction scores more than placebo over six weeks; trials have also tested low mood and PMS. It has no authorised health claim in Great Britain.^{1, 2} It sits in the Wellgard libido guide.

Evidence at a glance

• Trials: three randomised trials of saffron for sexual function in women (38, 74 and 50), 34 placebo-controlled mood trials pooled in 2026 (1,769 adults), and a 2026 pooled analysis for PMS and period pain.
• Largest single trial in women: 120 women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, over two cycles (2020).
• Strongest measured outcome: in 50 women, saffron with vitamin E raised sexual-function scores by 4.6 points more than vitamin E alone over eight weeks; the capsules were made and supplied by a pharmaceutical company.
• Not tested: saffron for desire in a trial longer than eight weeks, or in women after the menopause.

Sources checked on 14 October 2026.

What is saffron, and how do supplements differ from the spice?

Saffron is the dried stigma of the flower Crocus sativus. Supplements use an extract standardised to its most studied constituents, crocin and safranal; the trials gave 30 mg a day, usually 15 mg morning and evening.^{3, 1, 4} It has a long history as a spice; a pinch in cooking is not the trial amount. The Great Britain nutrition and health claims register holds no authorised claim for saffron, so a label may list it but attach no benefit, as with ginseng;² nor does it hold a UK traditional herbal registration (MHRA list, 27 October 2025).

Does saffron help women's libido?

Three randomised trials in 38, 74 and 50 women, all scored with the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI); desire scores rose in the 2022 and 2024 trials, not in 2013.^{5, 1, 6}

A 2019 pooled analysis combined five small studies in 173 men and women.⁷ The maca, fenugreek, ginseng and tribulus trials sit beside these on libido supplements for women.

Can saffron help the sexual side effects of antidepressants?

In 38 women with depression stable on fluoxetine, 30 mg a day for four weeks improved arousal, lubrication and pain scores against placebo; desire, satisfaction and orgasm did not change.⁵ In 36 men on the same medicine, erection and intercourse-satisfaction scores improved; desire did not.⁸ A 2025 review of 11 randomised trials in 859 women with antidepressant-related sexual problems included saffron and rated the evidence low certainty (GRADE).⁹ The NHS lists "problems with sex, such as low sex drive" among SSRI side effects and says that for some people they may carry on after stopping.¹⁰ Anyone taking an antidepressant asks the prescriber or a pharmacist before adding saffron; the NHS names antidepressants among the medicines that do not mix well with herbal medicines¹¹ (see ashwagandha and antidepressants).

What did the saffron trials find for mood?

Across 34 placebo-controlled trials in 1,769 adults pooled in 2026, self-rated depression scores fell 4.39 points more on saffron than on placebo (14 trials, 817 people) and self-rated anxiety scores 5.06 points more (6 trials, 339 people), moderate certainty (GRADE); the scales clinicians rate did not differ from placebo.¹² Saffron is not a treatment for depression or anxiety. The NHS treatments for depression are talking therapies, exercise and antidepressants; low mood that lasts is a reason to see a GP, you can refer yourself to NHS talking therapies, and a prescribed antidepressant is never stopped or swapped to try a supplement.¹³

Does saffron help PMS?

In a 2008 trial, women aged 20 to 45 with PMS took 15 mg twice a day or placebo for two cycles and scored lower than placebo on the daily symptom record and the Hamilton depression scale; the abstract gives no number of women.⁴ A 2026 pooled analysis put the PMS effect at a standardised mean difference of -0.64 and the period-pain effect at -0.51, with an interval reaching -0.01, as period pain and PMS supplements reports.¹⁴ In 120 women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, 15 mg twice a day in the two weeks before each of two periods lowered daily symptom scores more than placebo; Hamilton scores did not differ.¹⁵ PMS and PMDD are GP diagnoses; symptoms that affect daily life go to a GP first.

How much saffron did the trials use, and for how long?

30 mg of extract a day, almost always 15 mg morning and evening: four to eight weeks in the sexual-function trials, at least four weeks in the pooled mood trials, two cycles in the PMS trials.^{1, 6, 12, 4} No trial compared morning with evening, or one dose with a split one, so there is no evidence for a best time of day. On a label, whatever the format, compare the milligrams of extract per daily serving with 30 mg; an "equivalent to" weight of whole saffron is not the extract amount.

Is saffron safe, and who should not take it?

In the women's trials, side effects matched placebo.^{5, 1} Across 19 pooled analyses reviewed in 2021, the side effects most often reported were nausea, dry mouth, poor appetite and headache, none serious.¹⁶ At 400 mg a day for a week, more than ten times the trial amount, standing blood pressure fell and some blood counts shifted, all within normal ranges.¹⁷

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: saffron at supplement doses is not taken in pregnancy. At term, 750 mg over 24 hours softened the cervix in a 50-woman trial (a university thesis), and a 2026 review of 12 studies links higher doses with uterine stimulation and miscarriage risk;^{18, 19} the NHS says do not take herbal medicines when pregnant or breastfeeding.¹¹
• Antidepressants, blood-pressure medicines and any other regular medicine: the prescriber or a pharmacist hears about it first; the NHS lists both among the medicines that do not mix well with herbal medicines.¹¹

Is saffron hard on the liver? No trial here measured liver function; the safety trial's blood chemistry stayed within normal ranges,¹⁷ and a PubMed search on 14 October 2026 found no published case report of liver injury.

What we don't know

• No sexual-function trial in women has run longer than eight weeks, so nothing is known about months of use.⁶
• No trial read for this page tested saffron for desire after the menopause.
• Whether saffron changes how the body clears medicines: the enzyme findings are laboratory and animal work.³
• What a 2026 trial of saffron with curcumin in women with diabetes found: no abstract in PubMed yet.

Frequently asked questions

Is saffron or ashwagandha better for libido?

No trial has compared them, so nothing is ranked. Saffron has three trials in women (38, 74 and 50); ashwagandha's two are on ashwagandha for women. Taking both together has not been tested.

Is it safe to take saffron every day?

The trials gave it daily for four to eight weeks with side effects similar to placebo; nothing longer has been studied for sexual function in women, and at supplement doses it is not taken in pregnancy.^{1, 18}

What should you not mix with saffron?

Ask a pharmacist first if you take an antidepressant or a blood-pressure medicine (a 400 mg dose lowered standing blood pressure in a week-long trial);^{17, 11} laboratory studies suggest effects on enzymes that clear some medicines, not yet measured in people.³

How long does saffron take to work?

Four weeks in the 2013 women's trial, six in 2022 and eight in 2024; the pooled mood trials ran at least four weeks.^{5, 1, 6, 12}

Sources

1. Kashani L, et al. Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine, 2022. Randomised trial, 74 women, 6 weeks; funded by a university grant. PubMed 36186931.
2. Department of Health and Social Care. Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register. gov.uk.
3. Bathaei P, et al. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology, 2025. Review of laboratory and animal studies. PubMed 40167627.
4. Agha-Hosseini M, et al. BJOG, 2008. Randomised trial for PMS, two cycles; women not numbered in the abstract; funding not checked. PubMed 18271889.
5. Kashani L, et al. Human Psychopharmacology, 2013. Randomised trial, 38 women on fluoxetine, 4 weeks; funding not checked. PubMed 23280545.
6. Izadi S, et al. BMC Women's Health, 2024. Randomised trial, 50 women, 8 weeks; university-funded; capsules made and supplied by a pharmaceutical company. PubMed 38408971.
7. Ranjbar H, Ashrafizaveh A. Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine, 2019. Pooled analysis of 5 studies, 173 people. PubMed 31516855.
8. Modabbernia A, et al. Psychopharmacology, 2012. Randomised trial, 36 men on fluoxetine, 4 weeks; funding not checked. PubMed 22552758.
9. de Aquino ACQ, et al. Clinics, 2025. Systematic review of 11 randomised trials, 859 women. PubMed 39985829.
10. NHS. Side effects of SSRI antidepressants. Page last reviewed 12 June 2025. nhs.uk.
11. NHS. Herbal medicines and complementary therapies. Page last reviewed 1 May 2026. nhs.uk.
12. Mahmoudi R, et al. Nutritional Neuroscience, 2026. Pooled analysis of 34 randomised trials, 1,769 adults. PubMed 41693488.
13. NHS. Depression in adults: treatment. Page last reviewed 5 July 2023 (review overdue). nhs.uk.
14. Mohammadi MM, Karimi Z. Korean Journal of Family Medicine, 2026. Pooled analysis of randomised trials, PMS and period pain. PubMed 41151539.
15. Rajabi F, et al. Advanced Biomedical Research, 2020. Randomised trial, 120 women with PMDD, two cycles; no conflicts declared. PubMed 33457343.
16. Lu C, et al. Phytomedicine, 2021. Review of 19 pooled analyses. PubMed 34419735.
17. Modaghegh MH, et al. Phytomedicine, 2008. Safety trial, 30 adults, 7 days; funding not checked. PubMed 18693099.
18. Sadi R, et al. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 2016. Randomised trial of saffron at term, 50 women; university thesis. PubMed 28180016.
19. Alshdefat A, et al. Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, 2026. Integrative review, 12 studies. PubMed 42186868.

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