TABLE 2.
Main characteristics of included studies
| Study, (reference) | Country | Condition | Duration (weeks) | n | Group | Dose | Female gender, n (%) | Age, years, Mean ± SD | BMI, kg/m2, Mean ± SD | Main outcomes a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abedimanesh et al. (2020) | Iran | Coronary artery disease | 8 |
22 20 |
Saffron Placebo |
30 mg/day 30 mg/day |
NR NR |
54.83 ± 5.99 56.00 ± 5.67 |
28.77 ± 3.75 27.91 ± 2.69 |
↓ Ox‐LDL |
| Azimi et al. (2014) | Iran | Type 2 diabetes mellitus | 8 |
42 39 |
Saffron Placebo |
1,000 mg/day |
26(61.9) 24 (61.5) |
57.02 ± 1.0 53.64 ± 1.3 |
28.86 ± 0.2 28.40 ± 0.2 |
↔ F2‐isoprostan |
| Ebrahimi et al. (2019) | Iran | Type 2 diabetes mellitus | 12 | 40 | Saffron | 100 mg/day | 20 (50) | 55.2 ± 7.3 | 29.3 ± 4.9 | ↓MDA, ↔TAC |
| 40 | Placebo | 100 mg/day | 24 (60) | 53 ± 10.6 | 30.5 ± 4.7 | |||||
| Karimi‐Nazari et al. (2019) | Iran | Overweight/obese prediabetic | 8 |
36 39 |
Saffron Placebo |
30 mg/day 30 mg/day |
35 (64.9) 35 (64.4) |
57.95 ± 8.12 57.9 ± 8.7 |
29.35 ± 1.50 28.78 ± 2.02 |
↑ DPPH |
| Tahvilian et al. (2020) | Iran | Ulcerative sclerosis | 8 | 40 | Saffron | 100 mg/day | 19 (47.5) | 40.55 ± 12.71 | 26.95 ± 10.68 | ↔MDA, ↑TAC, ↑SOD, ↑GPX |
| 35 | Placebo | 100 mg/day | 17 (48.6) | 40.97 ± 11.34 | 24.80 ± 3.46 | |||||
| Ghiasian et al. (2019) | Iran | Multiple sclerosis | 4 | 20 | Saffron | 30 mg/day | 17 (85) | 29 ± 4.99 | NR | ↑TAC, ↓MDA, ↔TTG |
| 20 | Placebo | 30 mg/day | 18 (90) | 31.47 ± 5.31 | NR | |||||
| Ghaderi et al. (2019) | Iran | Methadone maintenance treatment | 8 | 26 | Saffron | 30 mg/day | NR | 44.5 ± 9.4 | 24.5 ± 4.4 | ↑TAC, ↓MDA, ↔GSH |
| 27 | Placebo | 30 mg/day | NR | 45.6 ± 9.9 | 25.2 ± 4.2 | |||||
| Pour et al. (2020) | Iran | Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease | 12 | 38 | Saffron | 100 mg/day | 17 (44.7) | 43.42 ± 10.62 | 28.85 (27.05, 32.68) b | ↑TAC, ↓MDA |
| 38 | Placebo | 100 mg/day | 16 (42.1) | 42.05 ± 8.27 | 29.60 (27.99, 32.59) b | |||||
| Hamidi et al. (2020) | Iran | Rheumatoid arthritis | 12 | 33 | Saffron | 100 mg/day | 33 (100) | 51.55 ± 8.26 | 28.17 ± 3.74 | ↔TAC, ↔MDA |
| 32 | Placebo | 100 mg/day | 32 (100) | 51.80 ± 9.62 | 28.39 ± 3.70 | |||||
| Shahbazian et al. (2019) | Iran | Type 2 diabetes mellitus | 12 | 32 | Saffron | 30 mg/day | 24 (75) | 53.5 ± 9.9 | 28.8 ± 4.0 | ↔TAC, ↔MDA |
| 32 | Placebo | 30 mg/day | 21 (65.5) | 52.4 ± 13 | 27.5 ± 4.2 |
Abbreviations: GPX, glutathione peroxidase; GSH, total glutathione; MDA, malondialdehyde; SD, standard deviation; SOD, superoxide dismutase; T2D, type 2 diabetes mellitus; TAC, total antioxidant capacity; TTG, total thiol group; UC, ulcerative colitis.
Main outcomes were expressed in terms of statistical significance (p <.05) as either increased (↑), decreased (↓), or no difference (↔) between saffron versus placebo group.
Data were reported as median (interquartile range)