HC 080652.299 is based on a small study which examined the effects of saffron on subjects who met the criteria for major depression according to the DSM-IV. The results of the study showed that saffron had an antidepressant effect on those taking the herb. In traditional medicine, depression is just one indication for use of saffron. Other maladies thought to benefit from saffron use include several women's complaints (menstrual irregularity, menopause, and infertility), anemia, enlarged liver, rheumatism, and asthma. It is also thought to have anti-carcinogenic, immunomodulating, and antioxidant properties.

The first report of saffron appears in a 7th century BCE Assyrian botanical reference compiled during the reign of Ashurbanipal. HC 060143.261 (also HerbalGram 68:32-33) describes the fresco on the Greek island of Thera which shows a goddess surrounded by various depictions of saffron. It is thought the fresco illustrates the goddess blessing the spice for medicinal healing. Alexander the Great used saffron as a curative for battle wounds. Egyptians used saffron to treat gastrointestinal disorders.

Only the three yellow stigma of the flower are used in saffron production making the spice one of the most expensive in the world – and also one of the most adulterated. To obtain one pound of saffron, 50-75,000 flowers are needed. The cultural aspect of saffron which spans from ancient Greece, India and Persia to the Amish Pennsylvania Dutch country is as diverse as its many uses which, besides medicinal and culinary, include the use as a dye, an aphrodisiac (Cleopatra bathed in it), a perfume, and as an offering to the gods.

In Ayurvedic medicine, saffron is considered to be a blood-energizing herb with a sattvic nature, meaning that it contains the qualities of light, harmony, and intelligence. All of these qualities would promote an antidepressant effect. Interestingly, although the title of the article in HC 080652.299 states that the saffron treatment was for mild to moderate depression, the article itself states that the subjects were rated as having major depression. (See also HC 100542.273.) One wonders if the therapeutic uses of this herb could extend beyond treatment of mild to moderate depression.

Lori Glenn, Managing Editor