Remedies › Black seed oil

Black seed oil (Nigella sativa)

Also called Nigella sativa, black seed, black cumin, kalonji, habbatus sauda (habbat al-barakah), thymoquinone (its main active compound), NP-101 / TQ Formula (drug form).

Black seed oil is pressed from the small black seeds of Nigella sativa, a flowering plant related to the garden flower love-in-a-mist. The seed is a spice (kalonji) across South Asia and the Middle East and a traditional remedy in Islamic, Unani and Ayurvedic medicine. Most lab research uses its compound thymoquinone. It is not the same as cumin, black cumin of Central Asia (Bunium), black sesame, or the 'black seed' niger seed sold as bird food.

What it has been studied for

Beyond Google: what a search won’t show you

Places a normal search rarely reaches: trial registries, drug-code names, FDA report databases, journals PubMed does not index and patent offices. Each item links to its primary record.

Research PubMed does not index
The only phase I trial of thymoquinone in cancer: no side effects, no responses
published July 2009, Shiraz E-Medical Journal
21 adults with advanced cancer that had failed standard treatment took oral thymoquinone, escalated from 3, 7 or 10 mg/kg a day, for a median of 3.7 weeks (75 to 2,600 mg a day). The authors report no side effects, no maximum tolerated dose, and no anticancer effect. The journal is not in PubMed, so this negative human result is missing from almost every review that cites thymoquinone's lab promise.
Drug under another name
NP-101 / 'TQ Formula': black seed as an investigational drug
2021-2026; phase 1 recruiting until 2030
Novatek Pharmaceuticals' enteric-coated thymoquinone formulation from Nigella sativa, under a US FDA investigational new drug file. Searches for 'black seed oil' never surface it. It has a phase 1 solid-tumor trial at MD Anderson (35 planned), a 12-patient immunotherapy pilot (5 responses, no control group), and a University of Florida liver-cancer trial that was withdrawn in 2026 with 'funding terminated'. Watch the name: NP101 is also a 2008-2011 sumatriptan migraine patch whose 7 trials appear in the same registry search.
Drug-form trial with results, no paper
NP-101 in high-risk COVID-19 (phase IIa/IIb, 170 people, stopped early)
stopped May 2025; results posted 2026
Randomized and double-blind. The registry says an interim analysis met the pre-set criteria for stopping 'for futility or efficacy' without saying which. Posted results: side effects judged related to the drug in 8 of 50 on NP-101 vs 12 of 60 on placebo in phase IIb; no serious events or deaths in any group. The primary outcome, sustained clinical recovery on day 5, was 28 of 50 on NP-101 vs 36 of 60 on placebo; median recovery took 5 vs 4 days, and virus was undetectable at day 7 in 36 of 42 vs 46 of 54. No statistical test is posted, but these raw counts show no advantage for NP-101. We found no paper. An earlier 55-person trial (NCT04914377) was published in 2022.
Unpublished trial
Thymoquinone buccal tablets to prevent mouth cancer (Cairo University, 48 people)
completed March 2020
A triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 5 and 10 mg thymoquinone tablets held in the cheek for oral potentially malignant lesions: the only registered human test of black seed's compound for cancer prevention we found. No results posted and no PubMed paper six and a half years later; whether it worked is unknown.
Unpublished trial
Black seed oil or capsules to prevent radiation skin damage in breast cancer (132 people, Egypt)
completed February 2024
Twice the size of the published 62-patient gel trial and using products people actually buy (a cold-pressed oil and soft-gel capsules). No results posted and no PubMed paper 32 months after completion.
Unpublished trial
Thymoquinone with metformin in polycystic ovary syndrome (253 women, Saudi Arabia)
completed August 2020
Randomized; outcomes included glucose tolerance and HbA1c. Larger than any published black seed trial on blood sugar in this condition, but no results were posted and we found no paper.
Completed trial, no results yet
Black seed oil with vitamin E (Nisatol) for blood sugar in perimenopausal women (120 people, Italy)
completed February 2025
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at the San Matteo hospital in Pavia of a branded black seed oil product, measuring glucose and cholesterol in women with impaired glucose tolerance. A second trial of the same product (50 women, NCT07013058) finished in December 2025. Neither has results or a paper yet.
Stalled trials
Two small diabetes trials that were registered and never updated (Saudi Arabia and Egypt, 2019)
planned for 2019; last updated 2018-2019
A 30-person double-blind trial of 2 g oil a day on fasting glucose (Sulaiman AlRajhi Colleges) and a 50-person trial of oil in type 2 diabetes (Ain Shams University, NCT03959306) both show status 'unknown'. Neither has results or a paper.
Unpublished trial
Exercise with and without black seed in type 2 diabetes (90 people, Saudi Arabia)
ended September 2020; registered October 2023
A randomized trial at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University compared exercise alone, exercise with black seed and a control group, measuring blood sugar, lipids, muscle function and inflammation before and after 4 weeks. The register shows 90 people enrolled and no results. We found no paper in PubMed or Europe PMC. It was registered three years after it finished.
Registry gap
Most black seed trials are registered in Iran, not on ClinicalTrials.gov
counted 28 October 2026
21 PubMed records on black seed cite an Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials number, against 13 that cite a ClinicalTrials.gov number. ClinicalTrials.gov returns 126 trials naming the remedy, many of them noise, so a US-registry check misses most of the field. On 30 October we also swept ISRCTN (9 matches, one the unpublished diabetes trial above) and EU CTIS (none). The Iranian registry refuses automated searches, so its unpublished trials are still unchecked.
FDA adverse-event reports
Reports to the FDA naming black seed products
2014-2025
25 reports in the FDA's supplement adverse-event database name a black seed or black cumin product; in 11 it was the only product listed. 4 involved a hospital stay (hives, a stroke, a gallbladder problem, memory loss with headache), 3 were called life-threatening (choking on a capsule, a liver-enzyme rise, anaphylaxis with a multi-ingredient product), and none a death. Problem groups: stomach and bowel (7), allergy or skin (7, one of which also names a tattoo ink), liver (2). Two reports look like the same person. None concerned blood sugar or asthma. A report is not proof that black seed caused anything.
Patent
Asthma and allergy patents using pure Nigella sativa seed (N. A. Nassief, 2000-2010)
WO 00/51580 (2000) to US 7,592,327 (2009)
A patent family claiming that a 5-day course of a Th1-stimulating agent, including pure Nigella sativa seed, reduced allergy symptoms from day 3 and sputum eosinophils by day 14, followed by remission lasting a mean of 6 months. These are the inventor's claims; we found no PubMed paper by the inventor testing them.
Patent
A seven-herb diabetes powder with 23% black seed (US 6,042,834)
2000
Claims about 9 g a day of a mix of fenugreek, black seed, oregano, rosemary, lupin, henna leaf and fennel for at least 60 days treats diabetes. A claim, not a tested result; it shows how long black seed has been sold in blood-sugar blends.

Sources searched on 2026-10-28: ClinicalTrials.gov, Drug codes (NP-101, TQ Formula, Nisatol), Europe PMC preprints (113), Europe PMC patents (14), FDA CAERS (openFDA), NIH RePORTER, J-STAGE (Japanese journals: nothing on these conditions), PubMed registry-number counts (IRCT vs NCT). Where we look

Safety notes

Skin allergy is the best-documented harm: case reports describe allergic contact dermatitis, blistering reactions and one DRESS syndrome after putting the oil on the skin; thymoquinone itself was identified as the allergen. Source
Swallowed black seed has been linked in case reports to a blistering skin reaction that mimicked Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Source
Kidney and muscle: a 2024 case report describes rhabdomyolysis, acute kidney injury and liver injury after drinking black seed oil; a 2013 report linked it to acute kidney failure in a patient with diabetes. Source
Bleeding and platelets: a patient on two antiplatelet drugs and chemotherapy developed a large hematoma after raising the dose to 2 g a day, and another patient taking black seed and evening primrose oil had platelets fall from 410,000 to 31,000 after surgery. Stop it before surgery and tell your doctor if you take blood thinners. Source
A leukemia patient in remission developed severe bone marrow suppression linked to black cumin. Source
A case report links preoperative black seed oil to serotonin syndrome after an endoscopy; take care with antidepressants and other serotonin-raising drugs. Source
Trials show it lowers blood sugar, so it may add to the effect of insulin or diabetes pills; check with your doctor before combining them. Source
The phase I study of purified thymoquinone found no side effects up to 2,600 mg a day in 21 patients with advanced cancer (published outside PubMed, Shiraz E-Medical Journal 2009). Trials of the oil mostly report mild stomach upset at most.
We found no human safety studies in pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Name trap: 'black seed' bird food is niger seed (Guizotia abyssinica), a different plant; it caused asthma in one allergic person. Source

Possible links

Where one finding points to others. These are leads for research, not conclusions.

Other conditions

Cholesterol 227 papers A 2020 meta-analysis of 50 trials found LDL 18.45 mg/dL lower and triglycerides 15.73 mg/dL lower; seed powder and oil differed for triglycerides. See on PubMed
Weight 332 papers Meta-analyses found about 1.6 to 2.1 kg more weight loss than placebo, with high heterogeneity and few high-quality trials. See on PubMed
Blood pressure 113 papers A 2026 meta-analysis of 31 trials found systolic blood pressure 3.25 mmHg lower; two hypertension trials registered in 2025-2026 are still running. See on PubMed
Fatty liver (NAFLD / MASLD) 30 papers A 2021 meta-analysis of 5 trials (358 people) found lower liver enzymes and a lower fatty-liver grade, but no change in cholesterol. See on PubMed
H. pylori stomach infection 16 papers In an 88-person trial, 2 g a day with omeprazole cleared H. pylori in 66.7%, against 82.6% with standard triple antibiotic therapy. See on PubMed
COVID-19 121 papers 5 trials or meta-analyses; a 313-patient trial of honey plus black seed in Pakistan reported faster symptom relief; the US drug form NP-101 was tested in two placebo trials (see Beyond Google). See on PubMed
Allergic rhinitis 15 papers 3 trials or meta-analyses, including a 2024 trial of an oil standardized to 5% thymoquinone for seasonal allergy. See on PubMed

Same mechanism

Thymoquinone (the main active compound) 2,251 papers Most lab and animal research tests this purified compound, not the oil; only 12 of these records are randomized trials or meta-analyses. See on PubMed
NF-kappaB inflammation signalling 200 papers The most cited anti-inflammatory and anticancer explanation in lab work; almost no human data. See on PubMed
Nrf2 antioxidant pathway 85 papers Lab and animal studies of antioxidant defences; no randomized trials. See on PubMed

Combinations

Black seed with honey 83 papers A traditional pairing; tested together in COVID-19 and H. pylori trials, so results cannot be credited to black seed alone. See on PubMed
Black seed with turmeric (curcumin) 205 papers An 8-week Pakistani trial in 250 men with metabolic syndrome found the low-dose combination improved more measures than either alone. See on PubMed

Who does the research

A. O. Bamosa 6 papers Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Dammam (now Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University), Saudi Arabia: the diabetes, asthma and H. pylori trials, and co-author of the unpublished-in-PubMed phase I thymoquinone cancer study.
M. H. Boskabady 10 papers Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran: the boiled-extract asthma and chemical-injury trials and many reviews of black seed and the airways.
H. Gali-Muhtasib 21 papers Department of Biology, American University of Beirut, Lebanon: the largest body of thymoquinone cancer lab work in our lists (all lab or animal).
A. Mohamed and A. S. Azmi 3 papers Case Western Reserve University (Seidman Cancer Center), Houston Methodist and Wayne State University (Karmanos): the NP-101 and thymoquinone immunotherapy cancer studies.
A. A. Hagag 2 papers Pediatric Department, Tanta University, Egypt: both trials in children with leukemia.

Who pays for it

US National Cancer Institute (NIH) 31 papers
National Natural Science Foundation of China 14 papers
King Abdulaziz University 6 papers
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences 3 papers

Counts are papers across our three PubMed lists (1,572 records, mostly lab and animal) that list the funder; 218 list any. The NIH grants fund lab work. Most human trials list no funder in PubMed, or only the authors' own university (Iranian and Saudi medical schools). The NP-101 drug trials are sponsored by its developer, Novatek Pharmaceuticals. NIH RePORTER lists 5 projects matching black seed terms, none a human trial. 'M. A. Khan', the most frequent author name in the lists, belongs to several different people, so we do not rank it.

What people report

We read public first-person posts and counted every outcome, good or bad. 40 reports, read on 2026-10-28; 18 mention side effects.

18Helped
2No effect
10Got worse
6Mixed
4Too early

Why these counts prove nothing on their own: people who post are not a random sample, most take other treatments at the same time, and nobody checks the diagnosis. We show them because they tell researchers what to test next.

Read all 40 reports

Helped Daily black seed oil plus mullein tea cleared chest mucus; cut a preventer inhaler to once daily, stopped another, no reliever for five months. HealthUnlocked, about 2021 (Date shown only as '5 years ago'; mullein started at the same time; medication changes self-reported, unclear whether doctor-supervised.)
No effect Took kalonji oil and mullein during flares for years; flares always ended up needing prescription drugs; now controlled on a biologic. HealthUnlocked, about 2021 (Long-term, retrospective account; several herbs together, so no single-remedy test.)
Helped Started oil softgels for allergic asthma; a year later a small, inconclusive lung nodule was gone on CT; unsure which supplement helped. City-Data forum, 2018-01-21 (No asthma outcome beyond 'kind of feel the difference' on day one; took it irregularly with grape seed extract; the nodule link is the poster's guess.)
Helped Takes a dropperful of oil by mouth and gets near-immediate relief of a stuffy nose and easier breathing; says it loosens phlegm. City-Data forum, 2018-01-22 (Not described as asthma; no dose or duration beyond a dropper.)
Helped After about two months, hay fever eased, breathing improved and a nagging cough stopped; also reports bald patches regrowing. WebMD user reviews, 2024-06-19 (Single review; started for another reason; no measurements.)
Helped Black seed powder in water ended a cough and throat mucus that had lasted over three months; says it has not returned. WebMD user reviews, 2019-10-20 (One review; cause of the cough unknown.)
Helped Quarter to half teaspoon suggested by a nurse practitioner: more energy, less joint pain, allergies easier; taking it late disturbed sleep. Side effects: poor sleep if taken late in the day. WebMD user reviews, 2019-07-26 (Three months of use; several outcomes self-assessed.)
Worse Half teaspoon of oil with honey burned the throat and chest, set off coughing and wheezing; the burning persisted; will not take it again. Side effects: burning throat and oesophagus, cough, wheezing. WebMD user reviews, 2019-07-09 (Single dose; one unrefined product; no medical follow-up reported.)
Too early After a first 1,500 mg dose of oil, one fasting reading came in lower than usual; seed powder taken earlier had disappointed. Diabetes Daily forum, 2016-01-06 (A single glucose reading after one dose.)
Helped Taking black seed since 2012 with sesame and chia; reports no metformin, HbA1c 5.4, normal cholesterol, weight loss and fewer allergy pills. WebMD user reviews, 2021-05-29 (Several seeds and probably diet changes together; no before values given; stopping metformin is the poster's own account.)
Helped In the first week of gel caps, joint pain and inflammation eased and glucose fell enough to lower insulin doses. WebMD user reviews, 2019-12-03 (Only one week; insulin changes self-made; low blood sugar is a risk when combined with insulin.)
No effect Nearly five months of oil brought no weight loss, and blood sugar went up over the same period. WebMD user reviews, 2020-04-22 (Review text is cut off; it does not say the rise was caused by black seed.)
Mixed Daily for a few months within a supplement mix; feels much better than a year earlier, no stomach issues, but still has cancer. HealthUnlocked, about 2020 (No PSA or scan result given; many supplements and conventional treatment at once.)
Helped A tablespoon each of black seed and flaxseed oil twice daily; after two weeks every psoriasis patch was smoothing and fading. Inspire, 2013-07-18 (Two weeks only; flax taken too (poster says flax alone had not helped); the thread later drew 1,531 replies.)
Helped Takes two black cumin oil capsules daily for multiple myeloma; says they also improved scalp psoriasis. Inspire, 2013-07-19 (No myeloma outcome is stated; one line.)
Helped Used the oil about six years earlier; skin became clear and other health issues improved; found the taste terrible. Inspire, 2013-07-20 (Recalled from years before.)
Too early Day five on two teaspoons a day; no difference yet. Inspire, 2013-08-01 (Five days.)
Too early Two days in and already sees a difference, describing themselves as normally sceptical. Inspire, 2013-09-03 (Two days.)
Too early First dose of the oil would not settle; belched all day and asked whether to switch to capsules. Side effects: belching all day. Inspire, 2015-01-16 (First day only.)
Worse Had the same unpleasant belching on black seed oil as on apple cider vinegar. Side effects: persistent belching. Inspire, 2015-01-17 (One line; no psoriasis outcome stated.)
Helped Oil for three months cleared about half of the psoriasis, then stopped working; the improvement held after stopping. Inspire, 2015-01-17 (Self-assessed coverage; benefit faded while still taking it.)
Helped Oil and gel caps with acetyl-L-carnitine and a nightshade-free diet: all-over clearing, sustained for about 18 months. Inspire, 2015-01-18 (Several changes at once.)
Mixed Rubbing the oil on an arthritic knee gives some relief for a while; unsure capsules did anything; later unsure it helped at all. City-Data forum, 2017-07-05 (Topical use mixed with other ointments; posts span 2017-2019.)
Helped Gel caps taken for asthma; within three days arthritis pain was about 95% less; five years on, no side effects. WebMD user reviews, 2025-11-24 (Asthma outcome not stated; one review.)
Mixed After a month: fewer headaches, neck and shoulder pain gone, new hair, but cholesterol unchanged, back pain persists and itching began. Side effects: itching. WebMD user reviews, 2020-02-04 (One month; self-assessed.)
Helped Two teaspoons daily: severe back pain gone within days and more energy, but jittery and awake from 4:30 am. Side effects: jitters, waking very early. WebMD user reviews, 2019-07-26 (Three days of use.)
Helped A teaspoon each morning: one major migraine in the period, lasting hours instead of days; tapering migraine prescriptions. WebMD user reviews, 2023-11-17 (Under a month; tapering medicines at the same time.)
Helped Within three days of capsules felt less inflammation, no cramps, toothaches or headaches, and lost weight; stopped only for cost. WebMD user reviews, 2021-10-01 (Asthma and blood sugar results not mentioned; many conditions.)
Mixed A teaspoon of oil before doctor visits seems to keep blood pressure down; higher-dose capsules caused nausea and cramps. Side effects: nausea, cramps. WebMD user reviews, 2025-12-04 (Self-observed; no readings given.)
Mixed More power in the legs, but painful constipation. Side effects: painful constipation. WebMD user reviews, 2020-09-08 (One line, under a month.)
Helped Applied to kitchen cuts, which healed faster than with other ointments, after initial stinging. Side effects: stinging at first. WebMD user reviews, 2020-05-29 (Topical use; also describes giving it to a child for asthma, which we did not count (second-hand).)
Mixed Quarter teaspoon daily: lost 17 lb in two months, but a rash appeared at higher doses; later developed heart failure. Side effects: eczema on shins at higher dose. WebMD user reviews, 2019-05-24 (Poster does not know whether the oil was involved; doctors stopped all supplements.)
Worse Developed major reflux after taking the oil, still present at the time of writing. Side effects: severe acid reflux. WebMD user reviews, 2024-08-21 (Under a month of use; single review.)
Worse No benefit; after raising the dose, a week of diarrhoea, and stomach burning and reflux still present four weeks after stopping. Side effects: diarrhoea, stomach burning, reflux. WebMD user reviews, 2024-08-17 (Under a month of use.)
Worse About three weeks in, having awful nightmares and afraid to continue. Side effects: nightmares. WebMD user reviews, 2024-01-18 (No other outcome reported.)
Worse A 1,500 mg gummy product caused severe throat and chest burning; saw a doctor, tests found no cause; reported it to the seller. Side effects: burning throat and oesophagus, chest pain. WebMD user reviews, 2023-11-13 (Attribution is the poster's; another review described the same reaction.)
Worse A black seed oil, D3 and K2 blend taken alongside two antidepressants left the poster miserable for two days. Side effects: felt very unwell for two days. WebMD user reviews, 2023-10-14 (Poster calls it withdrawal; a combination product; no medical assessment reported.)
Worse Capsules may have eased a pollen allergy but caused daytime sleepiness, nausea and headache; stopped after two days. Side effects: daytime sleepiness, nausea, headache. WebMD user reviews, 2022-08-30 (Two days of use.)
Worse Breast pain began soon after starting and disappeared within three days of stopping, at the doctor's suggestion. Side effects: breast pain. WebMD user reviews, 2020-12-08 (Stop-and-resolve pattern reported; no rechallenge.)
Worse After 7-10 days of a quarter teaspoon, had mini-stroke symptoms; tests found no cause; symptoms stopped after quitting. Side effects: symptoms of mini-strokes (TIA). WebMD user reviews, 2019-06-19 (Age 75 or over; no proven link.)

Checked against PubMed on 2026-10-28.