Compound or practice · Supplement
Black Seed Oil (Nigella sativa)
A traditional 'cure-all' seed oil (thymoquinone) with real, modest signals for blood pressure, glucose and lipids.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 3
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
3 at grade C — 3 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Blood pressureEvidence grade C
Modest
Smallmixed
- Glucose / HbA1cEvidence grade C
Modest
Smallmixed
- LDL cholesterolEvidence grade C
Modest
Smallmixed
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Blood pressure (grade C); Glucose / HbA1c (grade C); LDL cholesterol (grade C).
- Caution with Blood-pressure medications: Additive blood-pressure lowering.
Interactions
Documented pairings with supplements and medicines. A medicine on this list is a conversation for whoever prescribes it.
Blood-pressure medicationsCaution
Additive blood-pressure lowering.
The evidence in words
What it is
Black seed oil comes from Nigella sativa; its main active is thymoquinone, used traditionally across many conditions.
How it works
Thymoquinone has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions and modest effects on blood pressure, glucose handling and lipids.
What the evidence shows
Meta-analyses show small but consistent reductions in blood pressure, fasting glucose/HbA1c, and LDL. Broader 'cure-all' claims (asthma, weight, immunity) are weaker. A legitimately bioactive oil with modest cardiometabolic effects.
Safety & interactions
Generally well tolerated; can add to glucose- and blood-pressure-lowering medications, and may affect drug metabolism at high doses. antihypertensives — Additive blood-pressure lowering.
Bottom line
A genuinely bioactive traditional oil with modest, real cardiometabolic benefits — reasonable adjunct, not a cure-all.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Black Seed Oil (Nigella sativa) for Blood pressureEvidence grade C — ModestEvidence grade C
- Black Seed Oil (Nigella sativa) for Glucose / HbA1cEvidence grade C — ModestEvidence grade C
- Black Seed Oil (Nigella sativa) for LDL cholesterolEvidence grade C — ModestEvidence grade C
- Black Seed Oil (Nigella sativa): side effects, safety & interactionsGenerally well tolerated; can add to glucose- and blood-pressure-lowering medications, and may affect drug metabolism atEvidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.