Benefits of Saffron Extract
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. It is derived from the saffron plant's purple-yellow flowers, which are native to Asia and India.
Saffron is a spice in many foods, beverages, medicines, perfumes, and fabrics. It also offers several health benefits.
Saffron extract has anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce joint pain and stiffness in people with arthritis or gout. It can also provide relief from joint stress associated with everyday activities.
What is a saffron extract?
Saffron extract is a concentrated version of the saffron spice. Extracts are created by soaking, boiling, or steeping herbs or spices in a liquid (typically water or alcohol) to draw out their active ingredients.
Unlike saffron spice which is yellow to red, saffron extract is usually a red or purple-red color. Saffron extract is used as a dietary supplement, like other herbal extracts. It is not meant to treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Saffron extract is a liquid that contains Saffron's active ingredients. These include carotenoids, such as crocin; flavonoids, such as safranal and picrocrocin; and other chemicals, such as coumarin.
Benefits of saffron extract
Saffron extract is known to be an anti-inflammatory herb. It can help reduce joint pain and stiffness in people with arthritis or gout. It can also provide relief from joint stress associated with everyday activities.
It can also be used to reduce symptoms of other inflammatory health conditions. Saffron extract can be a good treatment for headaches, including migraines.
It can reduce anxiety and help you enjoy a better quality of sleep. It can also improve mood and be a natural treatment for depression.
Saffron extract has anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce joint pain and stiffness in people with arthritis or gout. It can also provide relief from joint stress associated with everyday activities.
Saffron extract can be a good treatment for headaches, including migraines. It can reduce anxiety and help you enjoy a better quality of sleep. It can also improve mood and be a natural treatment for depression.
Saffron extract can help fight bacteria, viruses, and fungi that cause infections. It can also be used as a natural treatment for ulcers.
How does saffron extract relieve joint pain?
Saffron contains a chemical called picrocrocin. This is what gives Saffron its distinct flavor and aroma.
This compound has been shown to reduce the activity of COX-2, an enzyme that is released when you are injured. This enzyme is responsible for causing inflammation.
When the COX-2 enzyme is reduced, so is the level of inflammation in your joints. This allows your joints to heal faster, relieving pain and stiffness.
Saffron extract can also improve blood circulation and reduce the level of uric acid in your body. This makes it an ideal natural treatment for gout.
When your body produces excess uric acid, it can lead to gout. Saffron extract can help your body eliminate this excess uric acid, reducing the chances of gout attacks.
How to use saffron extract to relieve joint pain?
You can use saffron extract to relieve joint pain in several ways:
- Add saffron extract to your diet.
- Add saffron-infused tea or saffron-infused water to your diet daily.
- Consume saffron extract in the form of a supplement.
- Ue saffron extract as a topical treatment.
- Use a saffron-based cream to reduce joint pain and inflammation.
- Use saffron extract as a mouthwash to reduce the signs of gum disease and toothaches.
Saffron Extract Research
Saffron extract appears to decrease depression-like feelings in healthy individuals experiencing subclinical mood disorders, adding to the growing body of literature showing the consistent benefits of Saffron for treating depression across clinical and nonclinical populations. Saffron extract appears to ameliorate subclinical symptoms of depression in healthy individuals and could promote increased resilience to stress-related mental disorders.
In a study on mice, saffron extract reduced anxiety-like behaviors and increased time spent sleeping. Saffron supplementation improved anxiety symptoms in a study in 60 patients over 12 weeks.
A study of 28 healthy men showed that ten days of saffron supplementation increased muscular strength and reaction times. In a study of 38 women, saffron supplementation increased sexual desire and decreased sex-related pain for four weeks. Saffron extract supplemented for 16 weeks improved cognition and reduced dementia in a study of 46 patients with Alzheimer's disease.
In another study conducted over eight weeks, taking saffron extract supplements helped to significantly decrease appetite, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and total fat mass (3). Participants receiving a 30 mg dose of standardized saffron extract reported lower depression scores and improved social relationships at the end of this study.
The present study investigated the effects of 30 mg standardized saffron extract on mood wellbeing following 14-, 28-, and 56-days of supplementation among healthy adults experiencing lower mood, measured using POMS. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-week saffron extract supplementation with 30 mg of the standardized extract on emotional wellbeing in healthy adults experiencing subclinical feelings of low mood and anxiety and/or stress and evaluate the acute effects of Saffron in response to a laboratory-based psychosocial stressor. Indeed, to our knowledge, only one other study reported the positive results of Saffron on symptoms of depression in healthy populations.
Although this seems promising, more extended, more human studies are needed with more significant numbers of participants before Saffron could be recommended as a depression treatment. There is also growing evidence saffron can aid in mood improvement and is a worthwhile supplement for the treatment of depression.
Some studies suggest that eating Saffron can help symptoms of depression. Some studies indicate that Saffron may enhance sexual and reproductive health.
Some small studies found that Saffron may improve premenstrual syndrome (PMS) depression. Studies also suggest that Saffron can help with Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), the physical and psychological symptoms that can happen before starting your menstrual period. A study from 2012 found that taking 30 mg of Saffron a day could help reverse sexual side effects from antidepressant SSRIs for women, including a lack of sexual desire, vaginal dryness, and pain when having sex.
One study showed that men suffering from ED linked to antidepressants improved their functioning after taking 30 mg of Saffron daily for four weeks. Another study of 25 diabetic men with erectile dysfunction, a common diabetes symptom, found saffron gel to be a significant improvement in sexual function and increased the frequency of erections.
An analysis of six studies found that taking Saffron significantly improved erectile function, sexual desire, and general satisfaction, but not sexual characteristics (18). One reviewed study showed that taking a saffron supplement was significantly more effective than a placebo in treating mild to moderate depression symptoms.
Saffron supplements are commonly used to help with lower mood (depression). Saffron extract has been widely studied for its benefits on mood (depression, anxiety) and neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's).
Saffron is a spice that can provide health benefits for conditions from inflammation to depression. According to one rat study, Saffron may also help treat high blood pressure (18).
Saffron may reduce blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity, as shown by studies on mice. Saffron may enhance blood flow and oxygen supply to muscles in physical exertion, which could also explain these effects.
According to studies, hydroalcoholic saffron extract can improve glucose control, decreasing fasting blood glucose levels in T2D patients. An Italian study states that crocetin in Saffron enhances brain oxygenation in rats, which positively affects the management of arthritis.
Saffron has also been shown to have aphrodisiac properties, and it might prove especially useful for individuals taking antidepressants. Research in 2015 noted that compounds found in Saffron, such as crocin, seem to decrease inflammation and oxidative damage in the brain, potentially leading to beneficial effects.
Crocetin, crocin, and safranal, three antioxidants found in Saffron, may aid in improving memory and learning abilities. Other clinical trials have also shown that supplementing with Saffron can help improve symptoms of depression for adults who are dealing with significant depression. To date, while the quality of many of the human trials is variable, preliminary evidence suggests a potential benefit from the consumption of Saffron for alleviating symptoms of depression.
Studies have not found any clinical evidence regarding saffron use for cancer treatment. A few older studies indicate that the antioxidants present in saffron tea may help lower cardiovascular disease risk. Although some recommend using Saffron as a complementary therapy for improving mood, it is still too early to recommend it to treat symptoms of depression.
As with mood, current clinical data suggests Saffron may be a helpful complement to personalized regimens to enhance memory and possibly learning, attention, and other higher brain functions, which may decline as we age. Literature data indicate Saffron may have utility as a potential chemopreventive treatment for cancer. A study in the journal Antioxidants notes that Saffron may, in theory, aid Alzheimer's symptoms because of its memory-enhancing properties and its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, which included 123 individuals with severe mood disorders, showed that doses of curcumin and the combined herb curcumin/saffron were effective at decreasing anxiety-like thoughts and depression.
In another study, high-dose saffron tablets reduced blood pressure in 30 adults over one week. In an eight-week trial, women who took a saffron supplement felt significantly fuller, ate fewer snacks, and lost considerably more weight than women in the placebo group (20).
For patients with mild-to-moderate depression, Saffron significantly reduced symptoms compared to placebo.21-25,27,28,39-41 Of note, one study41 administered C. sativus extract petal and observed substantial improvements compared with controls.
Conclusion
Saffron extract is a concentrated form of the saffron spice. It is known for its anti-inflammatory properties, which make it a great pain reliever and an effective treatment for joint pain.
Saffron extract can be a good treatment for headaches, including migraines. It can reduce anxiety and help you enjoy a better quality of sleep. It can also improve mood and be used as a natural treatment for depression.
Saffron extract can help fight bacteria, viruses, and fungi that cause infections. It can also be used as a natural treatment for ulcers. Saffron extract can also be used as a topical treatment, like a cream, to reduce joint pain and inflammation.
You can also use saffron extract as a mouthwash to reduce the signs of gum disease and toothaches. You can also use saffron extract as an incense to get rid of pests in your home. Who would have ever thought this culinary spice is that good for you!
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