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Evidence-Based Supplement Research
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Black Cumin and Reduced Postprandial Glucose

Research synthesisLow evidenceMixed effect size4 studies · 2 beneficial · 2 neutral · 0 harmful

Across 4 studies, 2 reported beneficial effects of black cumin (Nigella sativa) on postprandial glucose, with effect sizes ranging from small to moderate. The only high-quality study (a meta-analysis of 82 RCTs) found a moderate beneficial effect, while the remaining small-to-moderate studies showed neutral or mixed results. Median study duration was 60 days, and doses ranged from 200 to 4600 mg/day, though no clear dose-response pattern emerges.

  • Studied populations: type 2 diabetes patients, adolescent girls with PCOS

Caveats: Evidence base is small (only 4 studies) — conclusions should be considered preliminary. Many of the included studies did not reach statistical significance — effect may be smaller than the predominant direction suggests. The single largest and highest-quality study (meta-analysis, 2025) showed a moderate beneficial effect, but this conflicts with the neutral findings of two other meta-analyses and an RCT, highlighting inconsistency. Doses and forms were not consistently reported, limiting dose-specific recommendations.

Generated Jul 10, 2026
Doses used in studies
  • mg/day: 200–4,600 (median 1,700, IQR 400–3,700) — 2 studies
Time to effect
Median: 8.5 weeks · IQR 4.8 weeks–2.9 months · Range 7 days–3.7 months — Reported in 2 of 4 studies
4 of 4 papers
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