Saffron for Weight Loss: What One Snacking Trial Found, and What It Did Not

Saffron is sold for weight loss on the strength of one trial. In 2010, researchers in France gave 60 mildly overweight women either a standardised saffron extract or a placebo for eight weeks and found that the saffron group snacked less often and lost about a kilogram more. It was a real, randomised, placebo-controlled trial, and its result has been repeated in marketing copy ever since, usually without the numbers.

The numbers matter. One kilogram over eight weeks, in 60 people, in one study, with a concentrated extract. Later trials and a meta-analysis found small effects on appetite and waist size and nothing consistent on body weight. Saffron may take a little of the edge off snacking. It will not make anyone thin.

This guide sets out exactly what was found, what the mechanism might be, how the dose compares with a cup of saffron tea, and what a reasonable person should expect. It summarises research and is not medical advice; see our disclaimer.

The 2010 snacking trial

Published in Nutrition Research, the trial enrolled 60 healthy, mildly overweight women and gave half a standardised saffron extract at 176.5 mg a day and half a placebo, for eight weeks, with no diet imposed. The outcome that moved was snacking frequency, recorded in diaries: the saffron group reported significantly fewer snacks between meals, roughly half as many by the end. Body weight fell by about 1 kg in the saffron group against very little change on placebo. Side effects were minimal.

It is a decent small trial. Its limitations are the obvious ones: eight weeks, 60 people, a single centre, an extract made by the company that funded the study, and no follow-up to see whether the weight stayed off.

Later studies

Several small trials since, mainly from Iran, have given saffron or crocin at 30 to 100 mg a day to overweight adults, people with type 2 diabetes or coronary disease, for 8 to 12 weeks, measuring appetite, weight, waist circumference and metabolic markers. Results are mixed: some report lower appetite scores and modest reductions in waist circumference or body mass index; others find no difference from placebo.

A 2019 meta-analysis in Complementary Therapies in Medicine pooled the available trials and concluded that saffron supplementation produced small but statistically significant reductions in appetite and waist circumference, with no significant effect on body weight or body mass index overall. That is the fairest summary of the evidence: a small effect on appetite, a hint at waist size, and no reliable effect on the number on the scales.

How it might work

Saffron appears to increase serotonin availability, which is the proposed basis for its effects on mood and sleep. Low serotonin is associated with compulsive snacking and carbohydrate cravings, especially in the evening and premenstrually, and SSRIs sometimes reduce them. If saffron blunts the urge to snack, serotonin is the likely route. The women in the 2010 trial were not hungrier or less hungry at meals; they simply reported fewer snacks in between. This also suggests who might benefit: people whose extra calories come from grazing rather than from large meals.

Dose

The positive trial used 176.5 mg a day of a specific extract, far more saffron compound than the 30 mg used in mood trials and more than a cup of saffron tea or milk provides. There is no established thread equivalent, and buying the branded extract is the only way to match the trial exactly.

A sensible approach for someone who wants to try saffron for evening snacking is the mood dose: 12 to 15 threads a day, about 30 mg, steeped in warm water or milk, drunk in the evening when snacking is worst. That dose has the broadest safety record and may help through the same serotonin route. Give it four to eight weeks. Do not exceed 1.5 g a day, and expect a small effect if any. Saffron dosage per day has the conversions.

Saffron water and tea for weight loss

Saffron water, saffron tea and saffron milk are often promoted as weight-loss drinks. They contain 10 to 16 mg of saffron per glass, a fraction of the extract dose, so the appetite effect, if any, will be small. What they are is calorie-free or nearly so, warm, pleasant and slightly sweet-tasting without sugar, which makes them a good replacement for the evening hot chocolate or the glass of juice. That substitution is probably worth more than the saffron. Saffron water and saffron tea have the recipes.

Safety

At the studied doses, saffron’s side effects were mild and uncommon. It is not a stimulant and does not raise heart rate or blood pressure, which puts it in a different category from most appetite suppressants. The standard cautions apply: culinary amounts only in pregnancy and breastfeeding; medical advice first if you take antidepressants, blood thinners or blood pressure medication, or have bipolar disorder; and never above 1.5 g a day. Saffron side effects sets them out.

Use real saffron. Weight-loss saffron capsules are a market segment with a great deal of fakery, and dyed safflower has no crocin to act on anything. If you take threads, buy them with a per-lot ISO 3632 report and check a new vial with the water test. Ours is tested lot by lot; see the saffron page.

Read next: Saffron benefits: what the research actually says and Saffron water.

Questions people ask

Does saffron help you lose weight? +

A little, maybe, through appetite. One eight-week randomised trial in 2010 gave 60 mildly overweight women a standardised saffron extract or placebo; the saffron group snacked less often and lost about a kilogram compared with placebo. Later small trials and a 2019 meta-analysis found small reductions in appetite and waist circumference and no consistent effect on body weight. Saffron is not a weight-loss treatment.

How does saffron reduce appetite? +

The proposed mechanism is serotonin. Saffron appears to increase serotonin availability, and low serotonin is linked to compulsive snacking and carbohydrate cravings. The women in the 2010 trial reported fewer snacks between meals; the researchers attributed the weight change to that. It is a plausible explanation, not a proven one.

How much saffron for weight loss? +

The 2010 trial used 176.5 mg a day of a specific standardised extract, which is a larger amount of saffron compounds than the 30 mg used in mood trials. In threads, there is no established equivalent. If you want to try saffron for snacking, 15 threads a day, the mood dose, is a sensible and safe place to start; do not exceed 1.5 g a day.

Is saffron a safe appetite suppressant? +

At the studied doses, side effects were mild and no different from placebo. Saffron is far safer than stimulant appetite suppressants. The usual cautions apply: culinary amounts only in pregnancy, and a doctor's advice if you take antidepressants, blood thinners or have bipolar disorder.

Does saffron water or saffron tea help with weight loss? +

A glass of saffron water or tea contains about 10 to 16 mg of saffron, a fraction of the extract dose used in the one positive weight trial. It is a calorie-free, pleasant drink that may blunt the urge to snack in the evening, and it is a good replacement for a sugary one. That is the realistic benefit.