Black Seed Oil vs Ibuprofen for pain & inflammation
Short answer: For pain & inflammation, users rate them about the same: 100% report improvement with Black Seed Oil (17 reports) and 96% with Ibuprofen (25 reports).
Black Seed Oil has 2 meta-analyses and 9 randomized trials on PubMed; Ibuprofen has 511 and 1,743.
Based on 279 reports about Black Seed Oil and 83 about Ibuprofen. Not medical advice.
| Black Seed Oil Supplement | Ibuprofen Medication | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 66%helped114 reports · high confidence | 62%helped50 reports · medium confidence |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mostly positive |
| Research | BResearch: Moderate | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 2 / 9 | 511 / 1,743 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 94% (52) | 100% (5) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 90% (39) | 90% (10) |
| Pain & inflammation % reporting improvement | 100% (17) | 96% (25) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 94% (16) | 100% (3) |
| Memory % reporting improvement | 100% (7) | 86% (7) |
| Common side effects | stomach issues, nausea, oily skin, heartburn | stomach issues, headache, stomach ulcers, liver toxicity |
| Typical dose reported | 1 teaspoon / daily | Not listed |
Nigella sativa was shown to significantly improve laboratory parameters of hyperglycemia and diabetes control after treatment with a significant fall in fasting blood glucose, blood glucose level 2 h postprandial, glycated hemoglobin, and insulin resistance, and a rise in serum insulin. In conclusion, these findings suggested that Nigella sativa could be used as an adjuvant for oral antidiabetic drugs in diabetes control.
Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2019 ↗“Black seed yes. I'm taking capsules of both strengths. I was hoping it would help with exczema/skin health. But so far it's mainly good for immunity, anxiety. Good all rounder but not sure I'll get it again.”
In this study, use of ibuprofen vs acetaminophen for the treatment of fever or pain in children younger than 2 years was associated with reduced temperature and less pain within the first 24 hours of treatment, with equivalent safety.
JAMA Netw Open, 2020 ↗“I've always had a positive response to ibuprofen and would take it morning and night if it wasn't for the side effects and agmatine provides the same anti-depressant effects of ibuprofen.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate