Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| Authors | Publication Year | Country | Study Design | Participant’s Sex | Sample Size | Participants | Duration (Week) | BMI | Age (Years) | Intervention/Control (Type and Dosage) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IG | CG | IG | CG | IG | CG | IG | Dose (mg) | CG | |||||||
| Modaghegh et al., 2008 (A) [37] | 2008 | IRAN | R/DB/PL | F/M | 10 | 5 | healthy volunteers | 1 | 27.6 | 28.7 | NR | NR | saffron | 200 | placebo |
| Modaghegh et al., 2008 (B) [37] | 2008 | IRAN | R/DB/PL | F/M | 10 | 5 | healthy volunteers | 1 | 28.7 | 28.7 | NR | NR | saffron | 400 | placebo |
| Fadai et al., 2014 (A) [38] | 2014 | IRAN | R/TB/PL | M | 20 | 21 | patients with schizophrenia | 12 | 49.3 ± 7.1 | 48.1 ± 6.1 | NR | NR | saffron | 30 | placebo |
| Fadai et al., 2014 (B) [38] | 2014 | IRAN | R/TB/PL | M | 20 | 21 | patients with schizophrenia | 12 | 48.1 ± 7.7 | 48.1 ± 6.1 | NR | NR | crocin | 30 | placebo |
| Kermani et al., 2017 [39] | 2017 | IRAN | R/DB/PL | F/M | 22 | 22 | metabolic syndrome | 12 | 43.64 ± 11.17 | 42.59 ± 8.44 | 31.02 ± 5.45 | 30.48 ± 6.26 | saffron | 100 | placebo |
| Kermani et al., 2017 [40] | 2018 | IRAN | R/DB/PL | F/M | 24 | 24 | metabolic syndrome | 6 | 53.8 ± 9.2 | 50.9 ± 8.8 | 29.9 ± 3.9 | 29.8 ± 5.3 | crocin | 100 | placebo |
| Ebrahimi et al., 2019 [45] | 2019 | IRAN | R/DB/PL | F/M | 40 | 40 | type 2 diabetic patients | 12 | 55.2 ± 7.3 | 53 ± 10.6 | 29.3 ± 4.9 | 30.5 ± 4.7 | saffron | 100 | placebo |
| Zilaee et al., 2019 [42] | 2019 | IRAN | R/DB/PL | F/M | 38 | 38 | patients with mild and moderate persistent allergic asthma | 8 | 41.27 ± 9.77 | 40.77 ± 10.07 | 26.84 | 26.84 | saffron | 100 | placebo |
| Behrouz et al., 2020 [43] | 2020 | IRAN | R/DB/PL | F/M | 23 | 22 | type 2 diabetic patients | 12 | 57.08 ± 7.41 | 59.86 ± 9.46 | 30.64 ± 4.79 | 30.85 ± 3.19 | crocin | 15 | placebo |
| Azimi et al., 2016 [44] | 2016 | IRAN | R/SB/PL | F/M | 42 | 39 | type 2 diabetic patients | 8 | 57.02 ± 1.0 | 53.64 ± 1.3 | 28.86 ± 0.2 | 28.40 ± 0.2 | saffron | 1000 | placebo |
Abbreviations: R, randomized; DB, double-blind; SB, single-blind; PL, placebo; M, male; F, female; BMI, body mass index; IG, intervention group; CG, control group; NR, not reported.