Trial reportJournal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine2020
Effects of saffron on sleep quality in healthy adults with self-reported poor sleep: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- The effects of a saffron extract (Affron®) on mood, sleep, self-esteem, and exploratory measures of physical appearance in women aged 50 to 70 years experiencing low mood and poor sleep: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Trial
- An examination into the mental and physical effects of a saffron extract (affron®) in recreationally-active adults: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2022Trial
- Effects of Saffron Extract on Sleep Quality: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Clinical Trial.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- The Feasibility and Efficacy of a Brief Integrative Treatment for Adults With Depression and/or Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of evidence-based integrative medicineTrial
- Adverse Events of Saffron (Health science reports · 2026Article
- Effect of a saffron extract on sleep quality in adults with moderate insomnia: A decentralized, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Sleep medicine: X · 2025Article
- Integrative sleep management: from molecular pathways to conventional and herbal treatments.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Review
- Saffron as a Promising Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Edible Herbal Medicines as an Alternative to Common Medication for Sleep Disorders: A Review Article.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- Effects of Supplementation with the Standardized Extract of Saffron (affronAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Saffron and Sleep Quality: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Nutrition and metabolic insights · 2023Review
- Current Knowledge of the Antidepressant Activity of Chemical Compounds fromPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Combining Topical and Oral Botanicals for Skin Redness, Pigmentation, Sleep, and Mood: A Randomized Controlled Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Saffron and its active ingredients against human disorders: A literature review on existing clinical evidence.Iranian journal of basic medical sciences · 2022Review
- Impacts of vitamin A deficiency on biological rhythms: Insights from the literature.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
- Nyctinastic herbs decoction improves para-chlorophenylalanine-induced insomnia by regulating the expression level of neurotransmitters.Annals of translational medicine · 2021Article
- Six Common Herbs with Distinctive Bioactive, Antioxidant Components. A Review of Their Separation Techniques.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
objectivesHerbal medicines are frequently used by adults with sleep difficulties. However, evidence of their efficacy is limited. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the sleep-enhancing effects of a standardized saffron extract (affron).
methodsThis was a 28-day, parallel-group, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Sixty-three healthy adults aged 18-70 with self-reported sleep problems were recruited and randomized to receive either saffron extract (affron; 14 mg twice daily) or a placebo. Outcome measures included the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI; primary outcome measure) collected at baseline and days 7, 14, 21, and 28 and the Restorative Sleep Questionnaire (RSQ) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Diary (PSD) collected on days -1, 0, 3, 7, 14, 27, and 28.
resultsBased on data collected from 55 participants, saffron was associated with greater improvements in ISI total score (P = .017), RSQ total score (P = .029), and PSD sleep quality ratings (P = .014) than the placebo. Saffron intake was well tolerated with no reported adverse effects.
conclusionsSaffron intake was associated with improvements in sleep quality in adults with self-reported sleep complaints. Further studies using larger samples sizes, treatment periods, objective outcome measures, and volunteers with varying demographic and psychographic characteristics are required to replicate and extend these findings. CLINICAL
trial registrationRegistry: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry; Name: Effects of Saffron on Sleep Quality in Healthy Adults with Self-Reported Unsatisfactory Sleep; URL: https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=377781; Identifier: ACTRN12619000863134.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.