Saffron serves up benefits for patients with ulcerative colitis

Saffron supplements show promise in managing ulcerative colitis (UC), with notable effects on inflammatory markers and clinical manifestations of the disease, as reported in a small study.

After completion of treatment at week 8, participants who received high-dose saffron supplements (50 mg) showed significant improvements. Specifically, mean Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (SCCAI) dropped from 2.58 at baseline to 1.66 (p=0.023), mean Partial Mayo Score from 2.08 to 1.16 (p=0.007), and mean Hamilton Depression Anxiety Score (HDRS) from 16.33 to 10.25 (p=0.000). [Ashktorab, H, et al, CCC 2024]

Furthermore, high-dose supplementation yielded substantial reductions in the mean concentrations of inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein (CRP; from 4.12 to 2.86 mg/L; p=0.000) and faecal calprotectin (from 283.57 to 185.94 μg/g; p=0.002).

Participants who received low-dose saffron supplements (25 mg), on the other hand, had a significant improvement only in HDRS (from 15.55 at baseline to 11.77 at week 8; p=0.011). All outcomes remained unchanged among participants who received placebo. No adverse events were reported.

“This study demonstrates that saffron led to improvements in clinical response,” said lead study author Dr Hassan Ashktorab of Howard University in Washington, DC, United States.

The analysis included 30 adults with UC, of whom 12 were in the high-dose group (mean age 37.83 years, 66 percent women, mean disease duration 4.08 years), nine were in the low-dose group (mean age 32.22 years, 55 percent women, mean disease duration 3.67 years), and nine were in the placebo group (mean age 36.33 years, 55 percent women, mean disease duration 5.00 years). The assigned treatment was taken two times daily for 8 weeks.

Replicating results

To confirm the results, Ashktorab and colleagues recruited three UC patients, who were then given 50 mg of saffron supplements. Two of these patients underwent a washout period and received saffron at the same dose for a second cycle.

The findings from the secondary analysis were consistent with the initial observations, according to Ashktorab.

Saffron supplementation led to improvements in Partial Mayo Score, health-related quality of life, and HDRS. Pro-inflammatory cytokines TNFα, INFγ, IL-6, IL-2, and IL-17a decreased, while anti-inflammatory IL-10 and TGF-β increased. In two patients, faecal calprotectin levels fell from 228 and 169 μg/g at baseline to 63 and 16 μg/g, respectively, after the first treatment cycle.

Faecal calprotectin levels rose following the washout phase, then decreased again after the second treatment cycle. This, according to Ashktorab, validated the causal relationship between saffron supplementation and improvements in UC.

Additional 16s rDNA sequencing data showed that saffron supplementation was associated with a reduction in Gammaproteobacteria and an enrichment in Ruminococcaceae—organisms that are typically abundant and reduced, respectively, in patients with UC.

“These findings suggest that the use of saffron supplements alongside standard treatment protocols may yield beneficial effects for individuals with UC,” Ashktorab concluded.