Eden Apothecary · Herb Profile
Nigella sativa
Pronounced Black Cumin: KOO-min. Nigella sativa: ny-JEL-uh sa-TEE-vuh. Kalonji: kuh-LOHN-jee.
Warm, dry, and dispersing: a pungent, bitter seed that warms a cold, damp, torpid digestion, breaks up phlegm, and calms allergic, reactive mucous membranes.
Culinary amounts (as a spice) are traditionally consumed and generally considered acceptable. Avoid concentrated seed extracts and black seed oil at therapeutic doses. Traditional systems used higher doses as an emmenagogue and abortifacient; animal studies report reduced fetal survival and anti-fertility effects at therapeutic-equivalent doses, and thymoquinone affects uterine smooth-muscle contractility. Human data are insufficient to establish safety at therapeutic doses. Sources: Nigella sativa (black seed) safety overview, PMC10373399 / PMID 37551386 (2023); Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center herb monograph; traditional-use literature.
Insufficient data. The NIH Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed) reports no data on excretion of black seed constituents into breast milk or on safety in breastfed infants, though limited information suggests it is generally well tolerated, and it is traditionally used as a galactagogue (studies show a modest rise in prolactin but no proven infant benefit). Culinary use is likely acceptable; avoid concentrated oil or high-dose supplements while nursing given the absence of safety data and the risk of allergic contact dermatitis. Source: NIH LactMed, Black Seed.
Culinary amounts in food are traditionally used. Therapeutic doses of seed or oil are not well studied in children; use only under professional guidance, and be aware that the oil can lower blood sugar and provoke allergic skin reactions. Insufficient data for concentrated preparations. Sources: NIH LactMed; NCCIH; MSKCC.
Generally well tolerated in culinary amounts. Concentrated therapeutic doses of seed or oil may lower blood glucose and blood pressure, so watch for additive effects in people on antidiabetic or antihypertensive drugs. Topical oil can provoke allergic contact dermatitis, and rare cases of a severe hypersensitivity reaction (DRESS) have followed topical use. High doses in animals have shown liver and kidney effects; human therapeutic doses appear well tolerated, but long-term high-dose safety is not established. Thymoquinone may slow blood clotting.
Avoid therapeutic doses in pregnancy (see safety field). Use cautiously with a bleeding disorder or before surgery, and in anyone on blood-sugar-lowering, blood-pressure-lowering, or anticoagulant medication. Avoid with known hypersensitivity to Nigella or a prior severe skin reaction to the oil.
Nigella sativa is a widely cultivated annual field crop (a major spice crop of the Middle East, India, and North Africa) and is not at conservation risk. Choose organically grown seed and cold-pressed oil from reputable suppliers, since black seed oil is a documented target of adulteration with cheaper oils (per the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program).
Isaiah 28:25, 27: the qetsah (Hebrew), rendered fitches in the King James Version, is identified as Nigella sativa. The prophet notes it is beaten out with a staff rather than crushed under a threshing sledge, describing the gentle harvest of its delicate seed. Long used across the ancient Mediterranean, Middle East, and South Asia; Dioscorides described it as melanthion, and a well-known prophetic tradition of Islam calls the black seed a remedy for every disease but death.
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