Dose-Dependent Effect of Crocin on Depressive and Anxiety Symptom Scores: A GRADE-Assessed Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Roya Behrouzi, Fatemeh Mehdipoor, Kimia Torabinasab et al.
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In 30 seconds
This GRADE-assessed systematic review and meta-analysis examined dose-response associations between crocin supplementation and depressive and anxiety symptom scores in 14 randomized controlled trials. For each 30 mg/day increase in crocin, depressive symptom scores decreased by -3.37 (95% CI: -4.80, -1.94), with moderate-certainty evidence; anxiety scores decreased by -2.73 (95% CI: -4.17, -1.06), with high-certainty evidence. Both outcomes showed slight linear dose-response patterns. The authors conclude that crocin may improve these symptom scores, while noting that the underlying trials were relatively small and mostly conducted in one country.
Key findings
- Each 30 mg/day increase in crocin was associated with a -3.37 change in depressive symptom scores (95% CI: -4.80, -1.94; GRADE = moderate).
- Each 30 mg/day increase in crocin was associated with a -2.73 change in anxiety symptom scores (95% CI: -4.17, -1.06; GRADE = high).
- Dose-response patterns were slightly linear for depression (p nonlinearity = 0.47, p dose-response = 0.001) and anxiety (p nonlinearity = 0.9, p dose-response = 0.02).
Why it matters
The synthesis suggests that crocin dose may be relevant to changes in both depressive and anxiety symptom scores, and it provides separate certainty assessments for each outcome. These findings can inform interpretation of the clinical-trial evidence, but the substantial heterogeneity reported for both outcomes and the authors’ concerns about trial size and geographic concentration warrant caution.
What to keep in mind
The included trials had relatively small sample sizes and were almost all conducted in one country. Heterogeneity was high for both outcomes (I 2 = 97.1% for depression; I 2 = 97% for anxiety).