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Supplement · Grade B

Saffron Extract and medications.

Every documented pair, every citation. Below: 7 documented pairs grouped by mechanism.

Saffron Extract is in the Distil supplement database, evidence Grade B. The page below lists every medication we have explicitly assessed it against.

Below are the 7 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed for Saffron Extract: 7 amber. The pairs cluster around 1 mechanism: Additive serotonergic activity. Every call is cited to either a clinical reference (PMID) or the British National Formulary. Anything not listed here is either still to be assessed or beyond our database scope. The checker beneath surfaces assessments by medication, and the missing-item form at the bottom of the page routes any uncatalogued medication into our next curation pass.

Documented interactions

Additive serotonergic activity

Amber Citalopram

Saffron extract has its own antidepressant effect, possibly via serotonin-receptor modulation. Combined with citalopram, the serotonergic effect may stack. Watch for restlessness, sweating, or muscle twitching, and tell your GP if you start saffron while on citalopram.

PMID 15852492 · BNF: Citalopram

Saffron has its own antidepressant effect that may stack with duloxetine's serotonergic component. Most people tolerate the combination but discuss it with your GP, especially if your dose has recently changed.

PMID 15852492 · BNF: Duloxetine
Amber Escitalopram

Saffron has its own antidepressant effect that may stack with escitalopram's. Most people tolerate the combination but discuss it with your GP, especially if your dose has recently changed.

PMID 15852492 · BNF: Escitalopram

Saffron has its own antidepressant effect, possibly via serotonin-receptor modulation. Combined with fluoxetine, the serotonergic effect may stack. Most people tolerate the combination but discuss it with your GP before stacking, especially if your dose has recently changed.

PMID 15852492 · BNF: Fluoxetine

Saffron has its own antidepressant effect that may stack with paroxetine's. Most people tolerate the combination but discuss it with your GP, especially if your dose has recently changed.

PMID 15852492 · BNF: Paroxetine
Amber Sertraline

Saffron has antidepressant effects in its own right, which may add to sertraline's. Most people tolerate the combination but discuss it with your GP before stacking, especially if your dose has recently changed.

PMID 15852492 · BNF: Sertraline
Amber Venlafaxine

Saffron has its own antidepressant effect that may stack with venlafaxine's serotonergic component. Most people tolerate the combination but discuss it with your GP, especially if your dose has recently changed.

PMID 15852492 · BNF: Venlafaxine

What this list does not say. Pairs not flagged here are not implicitly safe. They are either not yet in our database, or fall outside our inclusion scope. Use the checker below to surface any medication, and submit a missing item if you take something we have not catalogued.

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For adults over 18. This tool gives evidence-graded information, not medical advice. Always discuss changes with your GP, especially if you take any medication, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a serious health condition.
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How we decide

How we grade severity, choose what's in scope, and what we exclude.

Every call on this page is reasoned. We publish the full rubric for severity tiers, the medication inclusion logic, the evidence grades we accept, and what we deliberately leave out. About three thousand words. Worth reading once if you use this tool more than occasionally.

Read the full methodology
Distil's interactions database is reviewed and updated every quarter. We grade evidence transparently and publish our methodology, including every database change, at /about/methodology. This tool is information, not a substitute for clinical judgement. If you take medication and supplements together, your GP or pharmacist can review your full regimen against your medical history. If you want a comprehensive personalised stack reasoned against this same database, the Distil report is the next step up.