About Safralis
Safralis is a high potency Kashmir saffron (Crocus sativus stigma) standardized to 8% crocins and 3% safranals, delivered in a 15mg or 30mg capsule. Rather than relying on an extract, Safralis uses the intact, selectively bred Kashmiri saffron stigmas that naturally carry high levels of safranal, picrocrocin, HTCC, and crocins. You get support for a positive mood, cognitive function, and your body's oxidative defenses from a material people have used for thousands of years.
Our Safralis Story
We’ve loved saffron’s unique mood-boosting effects for years, but we started wondering: what if we could find saffron with such a high native concentration of bioactives that it didn’t need extraction? Our work on Erinamax had already shown us the potential of this approach. So, alongside the scientists at Omnient Labs, we went searching for exceptional saffron!
That search led us to a tiny valley in Kashmir, where we found incredibly potent Mongra-grade saffron, which is by many regarded as being the highest quality saffron in the world! We didn't even have to wait for analytical testing results to know that this saffron was something special. It was the deepest red we'd ever seen in saffron stigmas (indicating high crocins content), and without even opening the bag that the initial sample of Kashmiri Mongra-grade saffron was in, we were already greeted by a fantastic aroma of high intensity (indicating high safranals content). Lab testing by Omnient Labs confirmed it, this Kashmiri Mongra-grade saffron was beating pretty much all of the extracts on the market, without breaking a sweat!
The trick with saffron however, is preserving the potency once you start processing it. Safranal is very volatile and is easily lost, however, since this is the main bioactive behind Saffron's acute mood boosting properties, everything should be done to preserve and stabilize it! We achieved this by taking the whole raw Kashmiri saffron stigmas, cooling them down, and then mixing them together with acacia fiber in a cooled down mill. The cold temperatures keeps the saffron stigmas more brittle, making them shatter more easily into a fine powder during milling, whilst the acacia fiber helps absorb any liberated safranal. The result is Safralis, cold-milled whole Kashmiri Mongra-grade saffron standardized to 8% crocins and 3% safranals. We verify its bioactive content and identity with testing methods developed by Omnient Labs.
Of course, we tried it ourselves too, and it made quite an impression! Paul’s first 60 mg trial was almost too strong for his taste, and even a 30 mg dose of Safralis really surprised us with it's potency! In fact, the 30 milligram dose felt so much stronger than our previous Saffron extract, which was also dosed at 30 mg, that we decided we needed a lower dose option. This is why we are releasing Safralis in both 15 mg and 30 mg dosage versions, in order to provide a more mellow option alongside the punchy 30 mg dosage version!
Benefits
- Positive Mood: Safralis supports a positive mood and a sense of general wellbeing, drawing on the mood boosting effects saffron is best known for.
- Cognitive Function: Safralis supports healthy cognitive function, helping you stay sharp and clear through your day.
- Oxidative Defenses: The crocins in Safralis support your body's oxidative defenses against everyday oxidative stress.
- Neuronal Protection: Crocin supports neuronal protection, helping maintain healthy nerve cells over time.
Safralis brings the mood, cognitive, and antioxidant support of high potency Kashmir saffron into a single flexible capsule you can take at whatever dose fits your routine.
Quality and Standardization
- Crocins: Each capsule is standardized to 8% crocins, the bright orange and red pigments considered to be one of the primary quality markers for saffron.
- Safranals: Standardized to 3% safranals, the compound group behind saffron's characteristic aroma, including safranal, picrocrocin, and HTCC.
- Whole Stigma: We use the intact Crocus sativus stigma rather than an extract, preserving the volatile safranals that are easily lost during extraction.
- Dosage Options: Available in 15mg and 30mg capsules, a lower 15 mg dose for mellow effects, and a 30 mg dose for punchier effects.
- Lab Testing: We verify botanical identity and bioactive content via testing performed by Omnient Labs.
Mechanism of Action
- Crocin Pigments: The crocins are carotenoid pigments that act as oxidation regulating compounds, they also inhibit NMDA receptors and serotonin transporters, while activating Sigma-1 receptors.
- Safranal and Precursors: Safranal increases dopamine levels, and GABAergic activity, while also directly activating serotonin 5-HT1A receptors. It is the primary compound responsible for acute saffron effects.
- Crocetin Conversion: Crocins can be metabolized to crocetin, a smaller molecule that interacts with neuronal pathways relevant to protection and cognition.
- Neuronal Signaling: Saffron's active constituents modulate multiple pathways involved in mood and cognitive regulation rather than acting through a single target.
Overview of the Science
Saffron has one of the deepest clinical literatures of any mood-supporting botanical. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in adults experiencing low mood suggest saffron extract may help support mood and general wellbeing [1][2], and research in healthy adults indicates saffron supplementation may support mood and the response to a psychosocial stressor [3]. In a controlled comparison trial, Crocus sativus was studied alongside a standard comparator in adults for support of a balanced stress response [4].
Research also points toward cognitive support. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials examined saffron in the context of age-related cognitive changes [5], a pilot study compared Crocus sativus to a standard comparator in children [6], and preclinical work suggests Crocus sativus may support cognitive function and a balanced stress response in aged rats under chronic cold stress [7]. Cell culture work indicates that trans-crocin 4 and trans-crocetin may modulate pathways relevant to neuronal protein processing [8].
On oxidative defenses, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial suggests crocin may help reduce markers of DNA damage, inflammation, and oxidative stress [9], and a systematic review and meta-analysis indicates crocin supplementation may support a healthy inflammatory and oxidative response [10]. Preclinical studies further suggest that saffron and its constituents crocin and safranal may attenuate markers of oxidative stress and tissue injury [11][12].
[1] Lopresti AL et al. The Journal of Nutrition. 2025.
[2] Amadieu C et al. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2025.
[3] Jackson PA et al. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2021.
[4] Ghajar A et al. Pharmacopsychiatry. 2016.
[5] Ayati Z et al. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 2020.
[6] Baziar S et al. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 2019.
[7] Priya V et al. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. 2026.
[8] Chalatsa I et al. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2019.
[9] Ghiasian M et al. Journal of Biochemical and Molecular Toxicology. 2019.
[10] Bahari H et al. Phytotherapy Research. 2025.
[11] Hosseinzadeh H et al. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2007.
[12] Amin BG et al. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias. 2014.
Click here to read the Research SnapshotIngredients
Ingredient:
- Safralis High Potency Kashmir Saffron (Crocus sativus) (stigma)
- Standardized to 8% crocins and 3% safranals (safranal, picrocrocin, and HTCC)
- Available at 15mg and 30mg per capsule, one capsule per serving
- Lab tested for botanical identity and bioactive content by Omnient Labs.
The 8% crocins and 3% safranals standardization matters because these are the two marker groups that define saffron quality: the crocins give the pigment intensity and oxidation balancing activity, and the safranals, together with their precursors picrocrocin and HTCC, carry the aroma and much of the bioactivity. By sourcing high potency Kashmir stigma and verifying it via lab testing, we deliver these bioactives at their high native concentration without the losses that come from extracting volatile saffron compounds.
