What are the short-term and long-term risks of taking 30–60 mg daily of saffron supplements?
Executive summary
Short-term use of saffron at study doses around 30 mg daily is commonly reported as well tolerated and used for mood, PMS and some eye conditions; common short-term side effects include nausea, headache, drowsiness, anxiety and appetite changes [1] [2]. Higher or prolonged dosing raises documented risks — vomiting, dizziness, bloody urine, altered blood parameters and possible kidney effects — and doses of several grams are toxic or potentially lethal, so long-term safety at 30–60 mg daily is incompletely characterized in current reviews [3] [2] [4].
1. Short-term safety: what trials actually used and reported
Clinical trials that tested saffron’s effects on depression, PMS and some eye conditions commonly used ~30 mg/day (sometimes escalated to 30 mg twice daily in protocols) and reported efficacy with few serious adverse events; short-term side effects listed across reviews include nausea, headache, dry mouth, sleepiness, anxiety and appetite changes [5] [6] [1] [2].
2. Short-term risks documented by regulators and public health bodies
Military and food-safety-oriented reviews note that small doses (<100 mg) appear well tolerated but that adverse events including vomiting, dizziness, vertigo, bloody urine, decreased appetite and headache have been reported — particularly with much larger intakes (grams) — so even if 30–60 mg commonly looks safe in trials, regulators warn of these possible reactions [3].
3. Longer-term safety: incomplete evidence and mixed signals
Comprehensive toxicology reviews summarize acute, sub-acute and chronic studies but conclude that a full, unified picture of saffron’s long-term toxicity is lacking; some clinical work found no major hematological or coagulation harms at certain tablet doses, but changes in blood parameters have been reported in studies using 60–400 mg daily and long-term effects remain uncertain [4] [2].
4. Specific organ risks flagged in the literature
Some evidence ties high or prolonged saffron exposure to possible kidney and liver signals: isolated crocin supplementation was reported to raise serum creatinine in at least one study, and toxicology reviews record renal and hepatic concerns at higher exposures — though these findings are not uniformly demonstrated at 30–60 mg/day and available reviews call for more data [2] [4].
5. Bleeding, blood pressure and drug interactions to watch
Multiple consumer-health outlets and clinical summaries warn saffron may increase bleeding risk or interact additively with blood thinners and could have additive sedative effects with sleep meds; saffron also may affect mood and therefore could interact with antidepressants — clinicians advise monitoring and disclosure of supplement use to prescribers [7] [8] [1].
6. Reproductive and pregnancy cautions
Animal and some human-focused commentaries advise avoiding high saffron doses in pregnancy because uterine stimulation and miscarriage have been observed in animal studies and high-dose use is contraindicated; available clinical guidance flags pregnancy as a situation where saffron supplements require caution or avoidance [9] [10].
7. Quality, adulteration and dosing inconsistency — an implicit risk
Reviews note that saffron supplements vary widely in formulation and potency; adulteration and batch variability are common industry issues that create hidden risks because consumers may not receive the active constituents at claimed doses — this complicates extrapolating trial safety (often using standardized extracts) to over-the-counter products [2] [9].
8. How to weigh 30–60 mg/day specifically
Available clinical trials and guidance commonly used 30 mg/day and found short-term tolerability and benefit signals; some sources report up to 50–60 mg in AMD or other studies, and small-scale data show side effects increase with larger doses, but authoritative reviews emphasize insufficient long-term data for routine high‑dose daily use and note blood-parameter changes have been observed at higher ranges [5] [1] [2].
9. Practical guidance and unanswered questions
If considering 30–60 mg/day: disclose it to your clinician, avoid use with anticoagulants or unmonitored antidepressant changes, and steer clear if pregnant. The literature does not definitively state long-term safety at 30–60 mg; toxicology reviews call for larger, longer randomized trials and better post-market quality control data [8] [4] [3].
Limitations: available sources summarize clinical trials, reviews and consumer guidance through 2025 but do not provide a definitive long-term safety registry for 30–60 mg daily; some signals (blood-parameter changes, kidney markers, bleeding risk) are reported at higher or variable doses and need prospective long-term study for confirmation [2] [4].