Table 1.

Comparison of the baseline characteristics between the saffron and placebo groups

Variable	Group		P-value
	Saffron N = 38	Placebo N = 38
Gender N (%)
Male N(%)	24(60)	24(60)	0.99
Female N(%)	16 (40)	16(40)
BMI (kg/m2)	26.84 (25.46–27.23)	26.84 (25.05–27.39)	0.79
Age (years)	41.27 ± 9.77	40.77 ± 10.07	0.67
Asthma severity
Mild N(%)	14 (35)	15 (37.5)	0.81
Moderate N(%)	26 (65)	25 (62.5)
Systolic pressure (mm Hg)	110.00 (110.00–120.00)	110.00 (110.00–120.00)	0.15
Diastolic pressure (mm Hg)	80.00 (70.00–80.00)	80.00 (70.00–80.00)	0.85
LDL-C (mg/dl)	118.54 ± 36.03	120.74 ± 27.35	0.76
HDL-C (mg/dl)	45.32 ± 13.46	45.57 ± 13.01	0.93
TG (mg/dl)	159.83 ± 41.20	149.30 ± 48.27	0.31
Total-C (mg/dl)	196.82 ± 42.11	192.74 ± 28.93	0.62
Eosinophil (%)	5.60 (3.00–7.45)	4.90 (3.85–6.50)	0.54
Basophil (%)	0.6 (0.3–1.05)	0.6 (0.4–1.20)	0.53
Physical activity (MET-min/week)	676.50 (231–2704)	693 (231–3446.50)	0.71
Symptoms (frequency per day)
Shortness of breath during the day	1.00 (0.03–1.50)	1.00 (0.04–2.00)	0.73
Shortness of breath during the night	0.71 (0.00–1.87)	0.20 (0.00–1.87)	0.64
Waking up due to asthma symptoms	1.00 (0.00–1.00)	0.00 (0.00–1.00)	0.12
Activity Limitation	0.38 (0.14–1.00)	1.00 (0.10–1.87)	0.22
Salbutamol spray consumption	1.25 (0.02–2.00)	1.00 (0.33–2.00)	0.79
Infant Feeding N (%)
Breast feeding	30 (75)	32 (80)
Milk Powder	5 (12.5)	4 (10)	0.37
Breast feeding and milk powder	5 (12.5)	4 (10)
The age of the onset of asthma (years)	33.50 (23.50–42.50)	30 (25.00–39.00)	0.96

BMI body mass index; anti-HSP, LDL-C: low density lipoprotein, HDL-C high density lipoprotein, TG Triglyceride. Values are expressed as mean ± SD, median ± IQR or number and percent. Mann–Whitney and independent sample T-test were used to compare non-parametric and parametric variables between the two groups, respectively