Effects of saffron supplementation on the cardio-respiratory endurance in the healthy inactive girls

We aimed to investigate the effect of saffron supplementation on the cardio-respiratory endurance factors in the healthy non-active girls. After filling a health and fitness questionnaire and perform 1-mile run test, 14 non-active female students were selected among the eligible students in the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili (Age: 20.7±1.38 years; BMI: 21.1±1.8 kg/m2) and they performed Bruce test on a computerized treadmill connected to a respiratory gas analyzer in three stages with one week interval. In this study, test has been done on subjects in stage one after placebo consumption. In the second stage, similarly test done after one week consumption of dry saffron stigma (300 mg/day) and the results were measured. Analysis of Covariance and Bonferroni pair-wise comparison were used for the data analysis. Results showed that the consumption of 300 mg saffron for one week caused a significant enhancement in VO2, VO2max, and time to exhaustion and significant reduction in the resting blood pressure and resting heart rate as well as significant increase in fat oxidation and a significant reduction in carbohydrate consumption during the Bruce test (