Table 3.
Within-and between-group comparisons of the changes from baseline to endpoint measures for clinical symptoms, basophils, eosinophils and asthma severity in the saffron and placebo groups of asthmatic patients
| Symptoms (frequency per day) | Saffron (N = 38) | Placebo(N = 38) | P-value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shortness of breath during the night | |||
| Baseline | 0.71 (0.00–1.87) | 0.20 (0.00–1.87) | |
| 8 weeks (endpoint) | 0.00 (0.00–1.00) | 0.02 (0.00–1.62) | < 0.001 |
| Changes | −0.24 (− 1.00–0.00) | 0.00 (0.00–0.00) | |
| P-value¥ | < 0.001 | 0.02 | |
| Waking up due to asthma symptoms | |||
| Baseline | 1.00 (0.00–1.00) | 0.00 (0.00–1.00) | |
| 8 weeks (endpoint) | 0.00 (0.00–0.00) | 0.00 (0.00–1.00) | < 0.001 |
| Changes | −0.50 (− 1.00–0.00) | 0.00 (0.00–0.00) | |
| P-value¥ | < 0.001 | 0.02 | |
| Activity Limitation | |||
| Baseline | 0.38 (0.14–1.00) | 1.00 (0.10–1.87) | |
| 8 weeks (endpoint) | 0.03 (0.000–1.00) | 1.00 (0.06–2.00) | < 0.001 |
| Changes | −0.14 (−0.79–0.00) | 0.00 (0.00–0.00) | |
| P-value¥ | < 0.001 | 0.49 | |
| Salbutamol spray consumption | |||
| Baseline | 1.25 (0.02–2.00) | 1.00 (0.33–2.00) | |
| 8 weeks (endpoint) | 0.14 (0.00–1.00) | 1.00 (0.38–2.00) | < 0.001 |
| Changes | −0.50 (−1.00–0.00) | 0.00 (0.00–0.00) | |
| P-value¥ | < 0.001 | 0.24 | |
| Eosinophil (%) | |||
| Baseline | 5.60 (3.00–7.45) | 4.90 (3.85–6.50) | |
| 8 weeks (endpoint) | 4.55 (2.82–6.00) | 4.90 (2.97–6.00) | 0.12 |
| Changes | −0.85 (−1.62) to (0.15) | 0.05 (−1.62) to (0.57) | |
| P-value¥ | 0.005 | 0.58 | |
| Basophil | |||
| Baseline | 0.60 (0.3–1.05) | 0.60 (0.4–1.20) | |
| 8 weeks (endpoint) | 0.90 (0.50–1.50) | 1.10 (0.77–1.50) | 0.09 |
| Changes | 0.00 (−0.20) to (0.62) | 0.40 (0.00–0.80) | |
| P-value¥ | 0.06 | < 0.001 | |
| Asthma severity changes (%) | |||
| Decrease | 18.40 | 2.60 | |
| No change | 78.90 | 92.10 | 0.076 |
| Increase | 2.6 | 5.3 | |
| Asthma severity baseline N(%) | |||
| Mild | 14(35) | 15 (37.5) | 0.81 |
| Moderate | 26 (65) | 25 (62.5) | |
| Asthma severity endpoint N(%) | |||
| Mild | 20 (52.60) | 14 (36.80) | 0.16 |
| Moderate | 18 (47.40) | 24 (63.20) | |
*p-value for comparing the changes of variables between the groups. Mann-whitney test was used. ¥p-value for comparing baseline, with endpoint values within each group. Wilcoxon test was used. Values are expressed as median (25th, 75th percentiles) (non-parametric data)