Image by Nicola Harger / Stocksy March 14, 2025
Saffron has a rich cultural history in Ayurvedic wellness and is a popular ingredient in countries like Greece, Iran, India, and Morocco.
These days, researchers are putting the spice—derived from the flower of the Crocus sativus plant—to the test in clinical settings.
Here’s the latest on how saffron may help ease inflammation throughout the body, according to the latest science. Saffron may help ease gut inflammation
A study published in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases found that high-dose saffron supplements led to an improvement in multiple gut health measurements, including inflammatory markers .
The study included 30 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause ulcers in the digestive tract. There’s no known cure, but studies like this one aim to find interventions to help manage the symptoms.
Participants split up into three groups receiving either a placebo, low dose (25 milligrams), or high dose (50 milligrams) of saffron (which has known antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties 1 ) in supplement form, taking these twice a day for eight weeks.
In addition to gut health perks, participants in the high-dose group experienced significant improvements in their Hamilton Depression Anxiety Score and overall quality of life, suggesting saffron may be able to support mental health, specifically anxiety, as well. Emerging research suggests that anxiety disorders could be associated with inflammation in the brain 2 ( neuroinflammation ), so this benefit could also have to do with the anti-inflammatory effect of the spice.
"These findings suggest that the use of saffron supplements alongside standard treatment protocols may yield beneficial effects for individuals with UC," researchers note.It’s important to remember that UC is a complex disease with many different influences, so you wouldn’t want to use saffron as the only treatment. Other saffron benefits Anxiety reduction and gut health improvements aren’t the only benefits spotted in saffron research thus far."Psychosocial interactions and heart rate variability improvements have even been demonstrated in research leveraging saffron extract supplementation 3 ," adds former mindbodygreen’s vice president of scientific affairs Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN .One previous test-tube study found […]
Saffron May Help Ease Gut Inflammation & Anxiety, Study Finds
