Abstract

Depression is the most prevalent neuropsychiatric disorder that has emerged as a global health concern. Antidepressant drugs, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and tricyclic are the first line used in treating depression. Although these drugs lack efficacy and have a delayed response time and numerous side effects, their widespread abuse and market continue to grow. Over time, traditional practices using natural and phytochemicals have emerged to treat many pathological conditions, including depression. These alternative therapies to chemical drugs show efficacy in depression with few or no side effects. Saffron is one of these alternatives that showed interesting pharmacological effects, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, anti-convulsant, antitussive, anxiolytic aphrodisiac, and antidepressant activity. This review will provide evidence of the use of saffron and its bioactive constituents in depression. Several preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that saffron and its phytochemical compounds, particularly crocin, crocetin, and safranal showed antidepressive proprieties. These effects are associated with the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective actions of saffron or its ability to modulate the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA.