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Saffron Extract in Memo Volt: Dose, Evidence and Interactions
Crocus sativus stigma extract, the most-studied mood and memory botanical in the formula.
Saffron extract comes from the dried red stigmas of the Crocus sativus flower. It is the best-researched ingredient in the Memo Volt formula, with human trials mostly covering mood rather than memory, at a dose of roughly 28 to 30mg a day of standardised extract.
Memo Volt does not publish how much saffron a capsule contains, so there is no way to check it against that research dose.
- Also known as
- Crocus sativus stigma extract, saffron crocus, kesar
- Source
- The dried red stigmas of the saffron crocus flower — about 150 flowers make one gram
- Dose used in research
- 28–30mg a day of standardised extract, taken for 6–12 weeks
- Studied for
- Low mood, and to a lesser extent age-related memory complaints
- Evidence strength
- The strongest in this formula — multiple randomised human trials, mostly for mood
- Amount in Memo Volt
- Not published
What saffron extract actually is
Saffron is the spice made from the red stigmas of the Crocus sativus flower. It takes roughly 150 flowers to produce a single gram, which is why it is the most expensive spice in the world by weight.
Supplement makers do not use kitchen saffron. They use a standardised extract, concentrated for two compounds — crocin, which gives saffron its colour, and safranal, which gives it its smell. Nearly every clinical trial has used a branded standardised extract at a fixed dose, not raw spice.
What the research actually shows
Saffron has more published human trials behind it than anything else in the Memo Volt bottle. Most of those trials looked at mood in adults with mild to moderate depression, using 30mg a day for six to eight weeks, and several found improvements compared with placebo. Some trials compared it against standard antidepressants and reported similar results, though these studies were generally small and many came from a single region.
The memory side is much thinner. A few small trials have looked at saffron in older adults with age-related memory complaints, with modest and inconsistent results. There is no body of evidence showing saffron prevents, slows or reverses cognitive decline, and the National Institute on Aging's position is that no supplement has been shown to do that.
So the fair summary is: real human evidence, mostly about mood, at a specific dose, over weeks not days.
The dose question
This is where it gets awkward. The trials that produced those results used 28 to 30mg a day of a standardised extract. Memo Volt does not publish how much saffron a capsule contains.
Thirty milligrams is small enough that it could realistically fit in a capsule alongside other ingredients — unlike some others in this formula. That makes saffron one of the more plausible inclusions here. But plausible is not confirmed. If saffron is the reason you are considering this product, ask the seller for a supplement facts panel with the actual milligram figure before you order.
The bottom line on Saffron Extract
Saffron is the ingredient here with the most honest claim to being evidence-based, and 30mg is a dose a capsule could actually deliver. Its human evidence is stronger for mood than for memory. If Memo Volt published its saffron content, that would be the single most useful number on the label.
Remember what this page is. Everything above is about Saffron Extract as a compound, at the doses used in its own research. It is not evidence about Memo Volt, because Memo Volt does not publish how much of it a capsule contains. Research on an ingredient is never the same thing as evidence about a finished product.
Saffron Extract: common questions
The label does not say. Memo Volt lists its ingredients without publishing per-ingredient milligram amounts, so there is no way to compare it to the 30mg a day used in research. Ask the seller for a full supplement facts panel.
The human evidence for saffron is strongest for mood, not memory. A few small trials have looked at age-related memory complaints with modest results. No supplement, saffron included, has been shown to prevent or slow cognitive decline.
Not without asking your prescriber first. Saffron appears to act on serotonin pathways, so combining it with an SSRI or other serotonergic medicine could add to that effect. This is a conversation to have before your first capsule, not after.
Other Memo Volt ingredients
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