This study is only available for people able to travel to our office in Duncraig, WA 6023

Saffron is a dietary spice that has been shown in several studies to improve mood, overall wellbeing, and sleep quality. In this study, we are interested in further examining its effects on mood and sleep in women aged 50 to 70 years experiencing depressive symptoms and poor sleep. Furthermore, we are interested in examining its effects on self-esteem, self-perception of physical appearance, and facial skin age.

If you are a female aged between 50 and 70 years and experience low mood and poor sleep, we invite you to participate in this randomised, controlled study.

PLEASE NOTE: Travel to our office in Duncraig is required on TWO occasions

Eligible participants will be RANDOMLY allocated into ONE of TWO treatment conditions:

1. Daily intake of tablets containing saffron, or
2. Daily intake of placebo (fake) tablets

This study consists of the following:

1. Participate in a 10-minute phone interview to discuss the study and assess your eligibility to participate.
2. Attend two in-person visits at the beginning and end of the study. This will take 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Take the tablets for 12 weeks (1 tablet, twice daily, containing either placebo or saffron).
4. Complete online questionnaires on weeks 4 and 8. These will take 10 minutes to complete

You can download the full STUDY INFORMATION SHEET by clicking the button on this webpage

To compensate you for your time and travel involved in this study, during visit 1 we will give you a $50 gift voucher and during visit 2, a $100 gift voucher. People placed on the placebo will also be given a free 12-week supply of saffron tablets when this study is completed.

To be INCLUDED in the study, the following inclusion criteria must be met:

1. You are a female aged between 50 to 70 years
2. You currently experience low mood.
3. You currently experience sleep disturbances
4. You are a non-smoker
5. You have a BMI between 18 and 35 kg/m2
6. You have no plan to commence new treatments for mood, sleep, or skin quality over the study period
7. You understand and are willing and able to comply with all study procedures
8. You are willing to provide a personally signed and dated informed consent form detailing all pertinent aspects of the trial.

If any of the exclusion criteria below are met, the applicant will not be suitable for participation in this study:

1. You are currently receiving regular psychological therapy/ counselling
2. You are suffering from recently diagnosed or unmanaged medical conditions including but not limited to diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, gallbladder disease, autoimmune disease, endocrine disease, or cancer/ malignancy
3. You have a psychiatric disorder (other than mild-to-moderate depression and/or anxiety), or a neurological condition/ disease including but not limited to Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease
4. You are regularly taking medication intake including but not limited to anticonvulsants, benzodiazepines, opioids, corticosteroids, or immunosuppressants.
5. You have changed your medication in the last 3 months or expect to change it during the study
6. In the last 3 months, you started or changed the dose of nutritional and/or herbal supplements that may impact treatment outcomes
7. You currently take supplements containing saffron
8. You consume more than 14 standard alcoholic drinks per week
9. You have a current or 12-month history of regular illicit drug use
10. You have planned major lifestyle changes in the next 3 months
11. You are pregnant, breastfeeding, or intend to fall pregnant during the study period
12. You have had a significant surgery that continues to affect your daily function over the last year
13. You have participated in another clinical trial in the last month

This study has been approved by the National Institute of Integrative Medicine (NIIM) Ethics Committee (Reference number: 0155E_2025)

If you are interested in participating in this study, please click on the button "Complete the Study Application Form" located on this webpage. This questionnaire will take aproximately 10 minutes to complete and helps us assess your eligibility to participate in this study.

Please Note: All answers are confidential and will only be seen by study investigators. If you are not eligible to participate in this study, your records will be deleted immediately

If you would like to speak to a researcher to get more information about this study, you can call us on 08 9448 7376