Saffron extract has 4 documented interactions in Magellan’s curated dataset, covering Blood pressure medications, Diabetes medications, Sedatives and sleep medications, Caffeine. Each entry below gives the mechanism as the cited reference states it, the direction the risk runs, how serious that reference treats it, and what to actually do about it — which is, in every case, a conversation with the clinician or pharmacist who manages the prescription rather than a decision you make alone.
What it is. Saffron is the dried red stigmas of the Crocus sativus flower, long used as a culinary spice and in traditional medicine; its principal bioactive constituents are the carotenoids crocin and crocetin and the volatile compound safranal. Standardized saffron extracts (marketed under names such as affron and Safr'Inside) have been studied mainly for mood and, more recently, for sleep and for early age-related macular degeneration.
Where it sits on the evidence. Magellan grades the supplement itself as Moderate evidence, with a typical studied dose of 20–30 mg/day standardized extract (sleep studies used ~14–28 mg/day). That grade is about whether it works, not about whether it is safe alongside your medication — the two questions are independent, and this page answers only the second.
Products this covers: Saffron Extract.
How the risks cluster. The entries split across 3 different mechanisms — additive; additive sedation; drug levels — and they are not managed the same way, so read each one rather than assuming a single rule covers all of them.
Safety and efficacy are separate questions, and this page only answers the first. For the second, the study Magellan’s coverage of Saffron extract rests on is:
“saffron extract could improve sleep duration and quality”
A strong result does not make a supplement safe alongside your prescription, and a documented interaction does not mean the supplement does not work. Magellan grades those two things separately, and neither grade moves for a commission.
Magellan’s Medication Safety Check runs entirely on your device — type the medicines you take and it flags every documented interaction in this dataset. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Open the Medication Safety Check →Saffron may lower blood pressure on its own; combined with blood pressure medication it could cause blood pressure to drop too low.
Medicines in this group include: Amlodipine (Norvasc), Diltiazem (Cardizem, Tiazac), Verapamil (Calan, Verelan), Nifedipine (Procardia, Adalat), Hydrochlorothiazide (Hctz, Microzide), Chlorthalidone (Thalitone), Indapamide (Lozol), Furosemide (Lasix) and 6 more.
Saffron may lower blood sugar; taking it with diabetes medications could increase the risk of hypoglycemia.
Medicines in this group include: Metformin (Glucophage, Fortamet), Insulin (Humalog, Novolog), Glipizide (Glucotrol), Glyburide (Diabeta, Glynase), Glimepiride (Amaryl), Sitagliptin (Januvia), Empagliflozin (Jardiance), Dapagliflozin (Farxiga) and 5 more.
Saffron may cause drowsiness; combined with sedative medications it could increase sleepiness and the risk of slowed breathing.
Medicines in this group include: Trazodone (Desyrel), Alprazolam (Xanax), Lorazepam (Ativan), Clonazepam (Klonopin), Diazepam (Valium), Zolpidem (Ambien), Eszopiclone (Lunesta), Temazepam (Restoril) and 1 more.
Saffron may slow how quickly the body breaks down caffeine, potentially increasing caffeine's effects and side effects.
These are the warning signs that go with the medication classes on this page. They are general safety-netting, not a prediction that any supplement will cause them.
If something feels seriously wrong, do not wait for an appointment. Call 911 (US) or your local emergency number.
Severity describes the interaction as the cited reference frames it, not how a specific person will react. A “minor” entry in someone with kidney disease, on five other drugs, can matter more than a “major” one in someone on nothing else.
This is a curated set of interactions with citations — not an exhaustive pharmacology database. An interaction that is absent here has not been ruled out; it may simply not be documented in the references Magellan curates from. Supplements are also not batch-tested for identity or contamination the way prescription drugs are, so what is on the label is a claim rather than a guarantee. And most of these entries come from case reports and mechanistic work rather than randomized trials, which is exactly why the sensible response is a pharmacist review rather than either alarm or dismissal.
15 documented interactions across 14 supplements.
9 documented interactions across 9 supplements.
43 documented interactions across 24 supplements.
8 documented interactions · shares a drug class with Saffron extract.
4 documented interactions · shares a drug class with Saffron extract.
3 documented interactions · shares a drug class with Saffron extract.
2 documented interactions · shares a drug class with Saffron extract.
A–Z of every supplement and drug class in this dataset, plus how to read an interaction.
What the research actually shows, graded independently of affiliate commissions.
Not without checking with the prescriber or pharmacist first. Magellan's dataset grades this as a moderate interaction: Saffron may lower blood pressure on its own; combined with blood pressure medication it could cause blood pressure to drop too low. (Source: Saffron: Health Benefits, Side Effects, Uses, Dose & Precautions.)
4 interactions are documented in Magellan's curated dataset: 3 moderate, 1 minor. They cover Blood pressure medications, Diabetes medications, Sedatives and sleep medications, Caffeine. Absence from this list is not proof of safety — it means no interaction is documented in the references we curate from.
Magellan lists the typical studied dose as: 20–30 mg/day standardized extract (sleep studies used ~14–28 mg/day). Dose matters for interactions — several of the entries on this page describe effects that only appear at supplemental rather than dietary intakes.