Efficacy of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in Premenstrual Syndrome, Labor, Childbirth, and Menopause: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials

Background: Saffron, as a medicinal plant, is widely used to treat various diseases, especially among women. Therefore, this study was conducted to review the studies on the impact of saffron on premenstrual syndrome (PMS), labor, childbirth, and menopause. Methods: This systematic review, based on the PICO process, systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Research Gate, and Persian databases, such as Scientific Information Database (SID) and Magiran, until February 2023. The search was based on a search strategy. Strategy search included keywords saffron OR Crocus sativus Linn. OR safranal OR crocin using AND premenstrual syndrome, postpartum depression, pregnancy anxiety, pregnancy depression, menopause, perimenopause, labor pain, childbirth, active labor phase, delivery, episiotomy, and pregnancy. Of 164 articles, 20 randomized controlled trials with a score of 3 and above based on the Jadad scale entered the study. Results: The results showed that saffron has positive effects on labor and childbirth, including improvement of Bishop’s score, labor progress, reduction of fatigue and labor pain intensity, and episiotomy healing. Additionally, it can improve mood and psychological symptoms of menopause and PMS. The results of two studies showed that saffron has an effect on postpartum depression. Conclusions: Saffron is suggested as a medicinal plant that can help improve women’s complications. However, due to the limited number of studies, it is recommended to carry out further studies without the limitations of previous studies before applying saffron in clinical medicine.