Kell, Graham (2015) A randomised placebo controlled clinical trial to determine the efficacy of Affron (Crocus sativus) for improving mood and sleep in helathy adults over four weeks. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
This study investigated the efficacy of saffron (Crocus sativus) for improving mood and sleep quality in healthy adults. Previous research found saffron to be superior to placebo in people diagnosed with depression, and as effective as Imipramine and Fluoxetine. Prior studies however, all used a 30 mg/day dosage for six weeks on people diagnosed with depression. In this four week double blind trial, 121 adult participants self-reporting low mood but not depression were given Affron (a commercially available herbal product containing Crocus sativus) at either 28 mg/day, 22 mg/day, or a placebo treatment. Mood was measured at baseline and at four weeks using POMS, PANAS and DASS-21, and sleep was monitored using PSQI. It was hypothesised that an active treatment of saffron would be superior to placebo, and that 28 mg/day would be more effective at improving mood and sleep than 22 mg/day. Results at p = .01 indicated a significant improvement in mood at 28 mg/day, with medium to high effect sizes, but little difference between 22 mg/day and placebo. Sleep quality showed no improvement but further research into the effects on sleep is recommended.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Gavin Beccaria |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Aug 2025 02:34 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Aug 2025 02:34 |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52457 |
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