Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Research Development Center, Arash Women's Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Complement Med Res. 2021;28(5):453-462. doi: 10.1159/000515003. Epub 2021 Mar 18.
The present systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials aimed to determine the effects of saffron supplementation on liver function tests among adults.
Electronic databases including PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus were searched up to January 2021. The risk of bias in individual studies was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. The overall estimates and their 95% CIs were calculated using random-effects models. Egger's test and Begg's rank-correlation were run to assess the presence of publication bias. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
A total of 12 trials involving 608 participants were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Saffron supplementation had no significant effect on liver function tests including aspartate transaminase (AST) (weighted mean difference [WMD] = 0.23 U/L; 95% CI -2.22 to 2.69; p = 0.851; I2 = 74.0%), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (WMD = -1.49 U/L; 95% CI -3.84 to 0.86; p = 0.213; I2 = 60.2%), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (WMD = -0.70 U/L; 95% CI -11.35 to 9.95; p = 0.898; I2 = 40.8%) compared to placebo.
Based on what was discussed, it seems that saffron supplementation could not improve liver function tests including AST, ALT, and ALP among the adult population. Further clinical trials with larger sample size, longer duration, and higher doses of saffron should be conducted exclusively among patients with liver dysfunction to elucidate the beneficial role of saffron consumption on liver function.
本系统评价和荟萃分析的目的是评估藏红花补充剂对成年人肝功能试验的影响。
检索了 PubMed、ISI Web of Science 和 Scopus 等电子数据库，截至 2021 年 1 月。使用 Cochrane 协作工具评估了个体研究的偏倚风险。使用随机效应模型计算了总体估计值及其 95%置信区间。使用 Egger 检验和 Begg 秩相关检验评估发表偏倚的存在。p < 0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。
本系统评价和荟萃分析共纳入 12 项试验，涉及 608 名参与者。藏红花补充剂对肝功能试验无显著影响，包括天冬氨酸转氨酶（AST）（加权均数差 [WMD] = 0.23 U/L；95%置信区间 -2.22 至 2.69；p = 0.851；I2 = 74.0%）、丙氨酸转氨酶（ALT）（WMD = -1.49 U/L；95%置信区间 -3.84 至 0.86；p = 0.213；I2 = 60.2%）和碱性磷酸酶（ALP）（WMD = -0.70 U/L；95%置信区间 -11.35 至 9.95；p = 0.898；I2 = 40.8%）与安慰剂相比。
根据讨论结果，藏红花补充剂似乎不能改善成年人群的肝功能试验，包括 AST、ALT 和 ALP。应专门在肝功能障碍患者中进行具有更大样本量、更长持续时间和更高藏红花剂量的临床试验，以阐明藏红花消费对肝功能的有益作用。
