Mood & neurochemistry
Seven randomised trials put it level with fluoxetine for mild-to-moderate depression. It is also the most adulterated spice on earth.
Not yet investigated
Seven randomised trials put it level with fluoxetine for mild-to-moderate depression. It is also the most adulterated spice on earth.
This star is on the map because the show intends to take the question apart properly — the trials, how it is actually tested, whether the thing sold is the thing studied. That work is not done yet, and nothing here should be read as a conclusion. When the investigation is published it will appear on this page.
What we are reading
Gathered for the investigation and not yet written up. Each note says what the paper does and does not show.
Seven RCTs. Against placebo, SMD -1.22 (95% CI -1.94 to -0.49) — a large effect. Against synthetic antidepressants, SMD 0.16 (-0.25 to 0.57), which is the statistical way of saying no detectable difference. Remission, response and drop-out rates all comparable. The authors rate overall study quality as MODERATE and note moderate heterogeneity, and almost every trial is small and Iranian; that is the thing to check before this becomes an episode, not the effect size.
The review that catalogues dosages, extract sources and standardisation alongside the effect — which is the part that matters for a spice sold by the gram. Proposed mechanisms are serotonergic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroendocrine, i.e. four plausible stories rather than one demonstrated one.
Connected on the map
Also in Mood & neurochemistry
The letter
The full citation list for each investigation, the studies that didn't make the episode, and any corrections — sent the morning it publishes.
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