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10.06.2023

Unhappy? A daily cup of saffron tea may help

If you drink a cup of tea with saffron every day, you will feel better. You'll be happier. Homemade saffron tea apparently has the same effect as saffron extract supplements.

Study
Researchers from Larestan University of Medical Sciences in Iran divided 72 postmenopausal women into 2 groups. The women in the control group drank a glass of hot water every day, the women in the experimental group drank a glass of tea made from 30 milligrams of saffron every day.

The subjects made tea by soaking 30 milligrams of dried pistils of Crocus sativus in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. The researchers bought the dried pistils from a local producer.

Results
When the study began, subjects in both groups reported the same level of happiness. The happiness scores did not change in the control group, but increased in the saffron tea users.

Click on the table for a larger version.

Active substances
According to previously published studies, supplements containing extracts of Crocus sativus improve mood. The study that this post is about shows that regular saffron tea also has this effect.

According to basic research, the main active substances in saffron are crocin [the naked version of crocetin] and safranol. Both substances affect the neurotransmitters.

Source:
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2023 Jun 1;23(1):176.

More:
Saffron, the universal mood booster 16.09.2018
Crocetin energy booster improves sleep quality too 04.01.2011
Crocetin: the energy booster from gardenia 02.01.2011

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