Pharmactive Biotech, the manufacturer of a saffron extract called Affron, believes that its product could offer a solution amid the rising stress levels associated with COVID-19 and the ongoing period of extended isolation. Pharmactive reports that Affron was the saffron extract to be assessed clinically for possible reductions of mild-to-moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescents.
 
Pharmactive pointed to a number of recent surveys which have shown that adolescents in lockdown are reporting especially adverse mental health outcomes as a result of the public health crisis and ongoing quarantines. A University of Oxford Survey on teens found that more than one-third of 500 participants surveyed reported high levels of loneliness. Another UK-based survey by the group Young Minds found that more than half of 2,111 young people with a history of mental health problems reported that the COVID-19 crisis was worsening their mental health. Additionally, a UNICEF Australia survey found that fewer than half of teenagers surveyed reported that they were “coping well” with the ongoing effects of the pandemic.
 
At a time when socialization and even in-person mental health care is more restricted in many areas, Pharmactive’s Strategic R&D Manager Alberto Espinel believes that this nutraceutical may have a place in improving mood and emotional health in teens due to its antioxidant activity.
 
“Affron possesses a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory impact, which not only could help balance key neurotransmitters levels, such as serotonin and dopamine, but also fights the oxidative stress produced by anxiety and stress in the brain,” Espinel said. “Unfortunately, investigations into the use of herbal and nutaceutical agents for youth are limited. However, they carry significant poitential that has yet to be realized. This gap in scientific exploration is what inspired our study of Affron with adolescents.”
 
In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial published in 2018, adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16 who had histories of mild-to-moderate anxiety or depressive symptoms supplemented daily with Affron, a saffron extract, which resulted in significantly greater improvements on self-reported symptom evaluations compared to teens who took a placebo.  
 
The study enrolled 80 participants, 68 of whom completed. Symptoms were assessed after eight weeks of daily supplementation with either affron or a placebo, through self-reported symptoms, and based on these assessments, those who took affron reported greater improvements in overall internalizing symptoms, separation anxiety, social phobia, and depression. These beneficial effects were not corroborated by parental reports of improvements, however, researchers concluded based on the self-reported improvements to anxiety and depressive symptoms that Affron is a well-tolerated product which could potentially yield benefits.
 
“it’s hard enough being a teenager on a good day and the social isolation is making it even harder,” Julia Diaz Saez, head of marketing for Pharmactive, said. “There is no magic solution. It is important to help teens cope with anxiety and stress by encouraging them to work out regularly, keep a routine, play music, and show them love and support. Combined with daily consumption of Affron saffron, it can help pave the way to ease stress and anxiety in teens.”
 
Affron also boasts the lowest dosage threshold of any saffron product on the market, with just 28 mg, due to its high bioavailability and rapid one-hour average absorption rate, Pharmactive reports.