Bespoke black seed oil supplement manufacturing

Black seed and oregano oils in softgels, bottles and capsules

Premium brands come to us as a black seed oil supplement manufacturer for custom black seed oil and oregano oil supplements, taken from the first formula to the finished softgel, capsule or bottle at our Leicester facility. We make black seed oil softgels with gelatine or plant-based shells, bottled oil for spoon or dropper dosing, oregano oil softgels and drops, capsules and tablets of ground black seed or oregano leaf, and combination softgels with oil-soluble vitamins. Every batch is tested by accredited partner laboratories, including an assay of thymoquinone or carvacrol, the marker we specify for each oil. Both oils sit within our herbal supplement manufacturing. Your formula is yours.

Black seed is the seed of Nigella sativa, also called black cumin or kalonji. It is used as a spice in bakery products and other foods, and its pressed oil is an edible oil (Matthaus and Özcan, Czech Journal of Food Sciences, 2011). Oregano is a culinary herb, and its steam-distilled oil carries the aromatic compounds carvacrol and thymol. Both have a long culinary tradition, and neither carries an authorised health claim.

We specify every oil by species, origin, extraction and marker content, every supplier passes our approval before any material is used, and we screen every preparation in-house against the novel food rules before formulation.

Thymoquinone: the marker brands ask about

Thymoquinone varies widely between products. Across commercial black seed products, it ranged from 3.08 to 809.4 mg per 100 g: bottled oils differed almost 18-fold and capsules about 31-fold, and the authors concluded that the content should be declared on every black seed oil product (Khaikin and colleagues, Nutrients, 2022). Seed storage and the extraction process both shape it. So we specify thymoquinone in your oil, assay it on every batch and declare the amount per daily dose. Concentrated thymoquinone extracts are a different material, and they go into a formula only after our novel food check.

Oregano oil: chemotype decides strength

Oregano oil varies too. Its main compounds are carvacrol, thymol, γ-terpinene and p-cymene; carvacrol or thymol can make up to 70% of oils from southern regions, and some chemotypes are dominated by other compounds altogether. Yield and composition shift with origin, extraction method, growing conditions and harvest time (Soltani and colleagues, Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 2021). We specify Origanum vulgare by chemotype, confirm its profile by gas chromatography and set carvacrol per softgel, so every batch carries the same strength.

Dose, carrier and protection for two strong-tasting oils

Development is a paid stage, which can be included with an order of the right size. For these oils it settles three things together: the dose, the carrier and the protection.

Dosing whole oil by its marker

Black seed oil is dosed as whole oil, so the daily serving sets the thymoquinone it delivers, and we size softgels around that figure. Oregano oil is strong and volatile, so it is diluted in a carrier oil to a set carvacrol amount per softgel. Both markers are oil-soluble, so an oil fill keeps them in solution, and directions to take the product with a meal suit fat-soluble ingredients. In GB and the EU, the label declares the amount of each substance with a nutritional or physiological effect per daily portion, such as the black seed oil itself, and declaring thymoquinone or carvacrol beside it gives buyers the detail the research calls for.

A linoleic-rich oil that oxidises

Black seed oil is rich in polyunsaturated fat. Linoleic acid made up 40.3% to 58.9% of the fatty acids in the Nigella seed oils Matthaus and Özcan analysed, with oleic acid at 18.7% to 28.1%. Polyunsaturated oils react with oxygen, and heat, light and trace metals speed the reaction. The oil's own tocopherols, rich in γ-tocopherol, help, but they do not replace process control. Thymoquinone can fall in storage with heat, light and oxygen as well; in the Khaikin study, the lowest result came from capsules six months past their best-before date.

So we hold oils cool under nitrogen, add mixed tocopherols or rosemary extract to the fill, seal the oil in softgels and pack in opaque, nitrogen-flushed bottles or blisters. We measure peroxide value and anisidine value at release and through stability, and track thymoquinone and carvacrol at every stability point, so the shelf life on your label rests on data.

Taste and the shell

Both oils taste strong. A sealed softgel keeps the taste out of the mouth, and an enteric coating keeps the softgel closed until it leaves the stomach, which suits strong-tasting oils. Every fill must also live with its shell: flavours and essential oils are screened for aldehydes, which can crosslink gelatine and slow how a shell opens, and we confirm rupture time through stability for each fill and shell pair. Plant-based shells of modified starch and carrageenan serve vegan ranges and are qualified with the fill.

The softgel is the natural format for both oils

We make every format below in Leicester, in a facility that is ISO 9001, HACCP and GMP certified by BSI, and FDA registered. BRCGS implementation under way, certification expected in early 2027.

• Softgels are the natural format for both oils: the sealed shell keeps out air, masks taste and fixes the dose in every softgel. We make them with gelatine or plant-based shells; see softgel manufacturing.
• Bottled oil for spoon or dropper dosing, in amber glass with a nitrogen headspace; see liquid supplement manufacturing. Our flavour and taste masking work softens the strong taste of the oil.
• Capsules and tablets carry ground black seed or oregano leaf where a dry format suits the range; see capsule and tablet manufacturing.
• Combination softgels pair black seed oil with oil-soluble vitamins, so the label can carry an authorised claim, such as "Vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system", from at least a source of vitamin D.

Inside a black seed oil supplement manufacturer's softgel line

Our HACCP study for each product type, reviewed annually, sets the critical control points. A black seed or oregano oil softgel runs through these steps at our Leicester facility.

1. Approve and receive. Each oil lot arrives from an approved supplier with its certificate of analysis: fatty acid profile, thymoquinone, peroxide value and contaminants for black seed oil, and a gas chromatography profile with carvacrol for oregano oil.
2. Hold. Oils are stored cool, under nitrogen, in closed containers until use.
3. Prepare the fill. Oils are blended with antioxidants under nitrogen, oregano oil is diluted to its set carvacrol content, and uniformity is checked.
4. Encapsulate. Two shell ribbons meet between rotating dies that form, fill and seal each softgel in one step, with fill weight and seals checked through the run.
5. Dry, inspect and polish. Softgels dry to their target shell moisture and hardness, and leakers and misshapes are removed.
6. Pack and label. Softgels go into opaque, nitrogen-flushed bottles or blisters, and bottled oil into amber glass. Label verification on every batch is our critical control point, CCP-01.
7. Retain and release. We keep three retained samples per batch for shelf life plus one year, and quality control releases each batch against its specification.

Plant, origin and culinary tradition: what black seed copy can say

As of October 2026, this is where each market stands. We design every formula to the rules of the markets you sell in.

• UK and EU: no health claim is authorised for black seed, thymoquinone, oregano or carvacrol, and claims for plants remain on hold. Copy describes the plant, origin, extraction and culinary tradition, never a health effect, and any claim comes from an added nutrient. A product presented as having medicinal properties is a medicine in the UK, so food supplements stay clearly on the food side of that line.
• Novel foods: the EU novel food catalogue lists cold-pressed black seed oil as not novel in food, and oregano essential oil as not novel in food supplements. Concentrated extracts, such as thymoquinone-enriched oils, are screened in-house before formulation.
• United States: FDA lists black cumin (Nigella sativa) among spices generally recognised as safe for their intended use, and origanum oils among essential oils generally recognised as safe. As dietary supplements, both can carry structure/function statements backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence, notified to FDA and carrying FDA's standard disclaimer.

Thymoquinone and carvacrol, assayed in every batch

Every batch is tested by accredited partner laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025), and batch testing is part of every order. Nothing is dispatched without quality control sign-off. Our testing and batch release page explains each method, and our stability and shelf life testing page explains how shelf life is set.

The EU states that its limits for oils apply to vegetable oils used in food supplements, so we test black seed oil against them. When your oil is ready to brief, Start your project.

References: Khaikin and colleagues, Nutrients (2022); Matthaus and Özcan, Czech Journal of Food Sciences (2011); Li and colleagues, Frontiers in Nutrition (2023); Soltani and colleagues, Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (2021); Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food (2023); European Commission, EU Novel Food status Catalogue (2023); Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 (2012); US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 182.10 and 182.20 (2026).