Saffron for treatment of fluoxetine-induced sexual dysfunction in women: randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study

Objective Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) has shown beneficial aphrodisiac effects in some animal and human studies. The aim of the present study was to assess the safety and efficacy of saffron on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor‐induced sexual dysfunction in women. Methods This was a randomized...

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Published in:Human psychopharmacology 2013-01, Vol.28 (1), p.54-60
Main Authors: Kashani, Ladan, Raisi, Firoozeh, Saroukhani, Sepideh, Sohrabi, Hamid, Modabbernia, Amirhossein, Nasehi, Abbas-Ali, Jamshidi, Amirhossein, Ashrafi, Mandana, Mansouri, Parisa, Ghaeli, Padideh, Akhondzadeh, Shahin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Crocus
Crocus sativus L
Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy
Depressive Disorder, Major - epidemiology
Double-Blind Method
Female
fluoxetine
Fluoxetine - adverse effects
Humans
Middle Aged
Plant Extracts - therapeutic use
saffron
Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - adverse effects
sexual dysfunction
Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological - chemically induced
Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological - drug therapy
Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological - epidemiology
SSRI
Treatment Outcome
women
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) has shown beneficial aphrodisiac effects in some animal and human studies. The aim of the present study was to assess the safety and efficacy of saffron on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor‐induced sexual dysfunction in women. Methods This was a randomized double‐blind placebo‐controlled study. Thirty‐eight women with major depression who were stabilized on fluoxetine 40 mg/day for a minimum of 6 weeks and had experienced subjective feeling of sexual dysfunction entered the study. The patients were randomly assigned to saffron (30 mg/daily) or placebo for 4 weeks. Measurement was performed at baseline, week 2, and week 4 using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Side effects were systematically recorded. Results Thirty‐four women had at least one post‐baseline measurement and completed the study. Two‐factor repeated measure analysis of variance showed significant effect of time × treatment interaction [Greenhouse–Geisser's corrected: F(1.580, 50.567) = 5.366, p = 0.012] and treatment for FSFI total score [F(1, 32) = 4.243, p = 0.048]. At the end of the fourth week, patients in the saffron group had experienced significantly more improvement in total FSFI (p 
ISSN:0885-6222
1099-1077
DOI:10.1002/hup.2282