A number of reports have been published on the actions of Black Seed extracts or its oil on different strains of bacteria. The extract and the oil have been reported to have a broad spectrum of activity against a number of microbes. For example, in vitro antibacterial effects of the essential oil showed pronounced activity even in minute dilutions against several organisms that included Staphylococcus albus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella niger and Vibrio cholera. Generally speaking the oil was more effective against Gram-positive than Gram-negative organisms.

The oil was also found to have excellent antifungal activity, particularly against Aspergillus species. Another study confirmed the effectiveness of Nigella Sativa against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The antibacterial effect was maximal when Bacillus subtilis was used. It has been shown that both the crude alkaloid extract and the water extract of the seeds were effective against a variety of organisms (isolated from human patients suffering from septic arthritis), even those that were resistant to antibiotics. Finally, Black Seed oil, given intraperitoneally, has been shown to exhibit a potent action against murine cytomegalovirus infection in mice.

The action was suggested to be related to the potentiating action of the oil on innate immunity. Scientific data has suggested the potential of Nigella Sativa as a natural source for the production of new antifungal drugs.

Agarwal R, Kharya MD, Shrivastava R. Antimicrobial & anthelmintic activities of the essential oil of Nigella sativa Linn. Indian J Exp Biol. 1979 Nov;17(11):1264-5.

Aljabre SH, Randhawa MA, Akhtar N, et al. Antidermatophyte activity of ether extract of Nigella sativa and its active principle, thymoquinone. J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Oct 3;101(1-3):116-9.

El-Kamali HH, Ahmed AH, Mohammed AS, et al. Antibacterial properties of essential oils from Nigella sativa seeds, Cymbopogon citatus leaves and Pulicaria undulata aerial parts. Fitoterapia 1998; 34:77–78.

Morsi NM. Antimicrobial effect of crude extracts of Nigella sativa on multiple antibiotics-resistant bacteria. Acta Microbiol Pol. 2000;49(1):63-74.

Salem ML, Hossain MS. Protective effect of black Seed Oil from Nigella sativa against murine cytomegalovirus infection. Int J Immunopharmacol. 2000 Sep;22(9):729-40.

Toppozada HH, Mazloum HA, el-Dakhakhny M. The antibacterial properties of the Nigella sativa l. seeds. Active principle with some clinical applications. J Egypt Med Assoc. 1965;48:Suppl:187-202.

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