Potential Benefit of Spices for Improving Mental Health

Singletary, Keith, W., PHD

Objectives
This narrative review is intended to be a descriptive summary of the scientific literature on the effects in humans of spice interventions for improving mental health, specifically depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline, so as to clarify the current state of knowledge, identify knowledge gaps, and highlight areas for future research for the reader.

Methods
To provide better insights into potential clinical meaningfulness of spice research, this narrative review will focus on data from meta-analyses. Systematic reviews and accompanying meta-analyses are quantitative methods in which complex and sometimes conflicting results from previous studies and RCTs in a larger body of research are systematically assessed. Meta-analyses represent an exceptionally high level of clinical evidence. The framework for this review of evidence involved identifying meta-analyses that examined the effects of a spice on mental health, specifically depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline, using data from at least 2 RCTs.

Conclusions
Assessments from these meta-analyses suggest that saffron and curcumin have promise in contributing to the alleviation of symptoms of depressive disorders and anxiety. Ginseng’s efficacy toward alleviating depression and anxiety is inconsistent. Evidence is limited and less consistent linking intakes of these 3 spices to improvements in cognitive function domains.

Reference
Singletary, L.W. Potential Benefit of Spices for Improving Mental Health. Nutrition Today . October 29, 2025. DOI: 10.1097/NT.0000000000000785