Blackcurrant Seed Oil: What It Is, What's In It, and How to Judge a Bottle
Blackcurrant seed oil is one of a small group of plant oils sold almost entirely on the strength of a single compound: gamma-linolenic acid, or GLA. Almost every bottle says so on the front. Very few say how much, and fewer still say how anyone knows. That gap between the claim and the measurement is the most useful thing to understand about the category, and it is what this article is built around — what the oil is, where it comes from, what the published composition data actually reports, and what you can reasonably check before buying.
We should say plainly at the outset that we do not sell blackcurrant seed oil. Sidr & Stone makes one product, a cold-pressed Ethiopian black seed oil, from an unrelated plant. This is a reference article, not a sales page.
The Short Answer
- Blackcurrant seed oil is pressed from the seeds of Ribes nigrum, the blackcurrant bush — a temperate shrub in the family Grossulariaceae, accepted under that name by Kew's Plants of the World Online.
- The seeds are a by-product. They are separated from the pomace left after the berries are pressed for juice and cordial, which is why the oil is a niche volume rather than a crop in its own right.
- Its selling point is gamma-linolenic acid. In a survey of 36 blackcurrant genotypes, GLA generally ran 11–19% of total fatty acids, with three genotypes reaching 22–24% (Ruiz del Castillo et al., Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2002).
- Unusually for a GLA oil, it also carries omega-3s: stearidonic acid at 2–4% and alpha-linolenic acid at 10–19% in the same survey. Evening primrose and borage oils carry neither in any meaningful quantity.
- The oil makes up a minority of the seed — total fatty acid content was 14–23% of seed weight across those genotypes.
- The GLA figure is a range, not a constant. It varies with genotype, so a bottle without a measured figure is telling you the species, not the strength.
- There is no authorised health claim in Great Britain or the EU for blackcurrant seed oil or for GLA. What the trial evidence does and does not show is covered separately in our article on what the research on black currant seed oil actually found.
What Blackcurrant Seed Oil Actually Is
The plant is Ribes nigrum L., published by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753 and listed as an accepted name by Kew's Plants of the World Online and the World Checklist of Vascular Plants. It belongs to the family Grossulariaceae, in the order Saxifragales, and is a temperate shrub whose native range runs from Europe across to the Russian Far East and Central Asia.
The oil comes from the pips, not the fruit. Blackcurrants are grown overwhelmingly for juice, cordial and preserves; the seeds are separated from the pressed pomace afterwards and pressed in turn. That origin matters commercially, because it caps supply and means the oil's availability tracks the juice industry rather than demand for the oil.
One distinction worth fixing early, because it causes a great deal of confusion in shopping: blackcurrant seed oil, blackcurrant extract and blackcurrant juice powder are three different products. The extract and the powder come from the fruit and are sold on anthocyanins. The oil comes from the seed and is sold on fatty acids. They share a plant and almost nothing else.
The Fatty-Acid Profile, and Why the GLA Number Moves
The most useful published reference on blackcurrant seed composition is a Scottish Crop Research Institute survey. Ruiz del Castillo, Dobson, Brennan and Gordon analysed the seed oil of 36 blackcurrant genotypes and reported the results in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2002 (50(2):332–335; PMID 11782203).
| Component | Reported range | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, 18:3 n-6) | Generally 11–19% of total fatty acids; 22–24% in three genotypes | The omega-6 the oil is sold on |
| Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3 n-3) | 10–19% | The plant omega-3 found in flax and rapeseed |
| Stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4 n-3) | 2–4% | An uncommon omega-3, rare in seed oils |
| Total fatty acids in the seed | 14–23% of seed weight | How much oil there is to press |
Two things follow from that table. The first is that the spread is wide: a genotype at the bottom of the range carries roughly half the GLA of one at the top. A label that says "rich in GLA" without a figure is describing a species, not a bottle.
The second is the omega-3 content, which is the genuine point of difference for this oil. Carrying both an omega-6 (GLA) and two omega-3s (ALA and stearidonic acid) in the same seed is unusual, and stearidonic acid in particular is rare enough in commercial seed oils to be worth naming.
A separate survey of 47 Ribes accessions by Goffman and Galletti, published in the same journal in 2001 (49(1):349–354; PMID 11170598), found GLA up to 15.8% in Ribes nigrum, against a mean of about 8% in gooseberry and 6.2% in redcurrant — confirming that the blackcurrant, specifically, is the useful species in the genus.
Blackcurrant, Evening Primrose and Borage: The GLA Comparison
Three plant oils dominate the GLA supplement shelf, and a buyer choosing between them is usually choosing on price and on GLA density without being told either clearly.
| Oil | Plant | Family | GLA, reference range | Also carries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackcurrant seed oil | Ribes nigrum | Grossulariaceae | 11–19%, up to 22–24% in some genotypes | ALA 10–19% and stearidonic acid 2–4% — the only one of the three with meaningful omega-3 |
| Evening primrose oil | Oenothera biennis | Onagraceae | Around 8–10% in the reference literature | Mostly linoleic acid; no meaningful omega-3 |
| Borage (starflower) oil | Borago officinalis | Boraginaceae | Roughly 18–25% — the richest common source | No meaningful omega-3 |
Borage is the densest source of GLA per gram and is usually the cheapest way to buy it. Evening primrose is the most widely sold. Blackcurrant's case is not that it beats borage on GLA — mostly it does not — but that it is the only one of the three that brings omega-3 fatty acids along with the omega-6.
Whether that combination matters to a person is a separate question, and one the evidence answers less confidently than the marketing does. That is the subject of the companion article rather than this one.
What the Evidence Does and Doesn't Support
Blackcurrant seed oil has been studied in humans, but not much and not recently. The trial literature is small, mostly two or three decades old, and concentrated in a handful of research groups. Several of the studies that are cited most often on retail pages measured something other than what the page implies, or reported a result that did not hold at a later time point.
We have set that out properly, study by study, with what each one actually measured and what it did not show, in our article on black currant seed oil benefits and what the research really found. For this article the honest summary is short: the composition of the oil is well characterised, and the clinical case for it is thin. Those are two different things and it is worth not confusing them.
One regulatory point belongs here too. The list of permitted health claims in Great Britain and the EU derives from Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, published in the UK on legislation.gov.uk. Gamma-linolenic acid does not appear in it, and neither does blackcurrant. Any UK seller making a health claim for a GLA oil is doing so outside the authorised list.
How to Judge a Bottle of Blackcurrant Seed Oil
Because the GLA content varies so much by genotype, the checks that matter here are about measurement rather than marketing language. The list below is the same discipline we apply to our own category, transposed.
| What to look for | Why it matters | What a good answer looks like |
|---|---|---|
| A stated GLA percentage | The published range spans roughly two-fold. Without a number you are buying a species | A specific figure, not "rich in" or "high in" |
| Per-batch testing | A single historic analysis says little about the bottle in your hand | A batch-linked certificate of analysis you can actually see |
| Named extraction method | Cold-pressed and solvent-extracted oils are different products | "Cold-pressed" stated plainly, not implied |
| Species on the label | Distinguishes seed oil from fruit extract and from other Ribes species | Ribes nigrum seed oil, named |
| Dark glass packaging | A highly unsaturated oil degrades in light | Amber or opaque glass, not clear plastic |
| A best-before date and storage advice | Shelf life is short for oils this unsaturated | A date well in the future and a cool, dark storage instruction |
The pattern behind that list generalises. Any oil sold on a named compound — GLA here, thymoquinone in our own case — is only as credible as the measurement behind the name. Our guide to choosing a quality black seed oil walks through the same checks in more detail, and the underlying logic transfers directly.
Storage, Oxidation and Shelf Life
Blackcurrant seed oil is one of the more unsaturated oils on the shelf, carrying two omega-3s and two omega-6s in quantity. Unsaturation is exactly what makes an oil prone to oxidation, and oxidation is what turns a seed oil rancid.
The practical implications are dull and effective. Keep it in dark glass, keep it cool, keep the cap on, and buy a size you will finish rather than a size that looks like value. Refrigeration after opening is sensible. Trust your nose — a sharp, crayon-like or paint-like smell means the oil has gone, whatever the date says. The same principles apply across cold-pressed seed oils, and we set them out at greater length in our piece on black seed oil shelf life and storage.
Three Objections Worth Taking Seriously
"If borage has more GLA, why would anyone buy blackcurrant?"
On GLA alone, they probably would not. The defensible reason to prefer blackcurrant is the omega-3 fraction — the alpha-linolenic and stearidonic acids that borage and evening primrose do not supply. Whether that combination produces a different outcome in a person is not something the trial evidence establishes, so the honest framing is "different composition", not "better oil".
"You're a black seed oil company. Why should I trust you on this?"
A fair challenge. We have no commercial interest in what you conclude about blackcurrant seed oil, which cuts both ways: it means we have no reason to oversell it, and no reason to rubbish it either. Everything factual on this page is sourced to Kew, to two named peer-reviewed composition surveys and to the published claims register, so it can be checked without taking our word for anything.
"Isn't demanding a per-batch certificate unrealistic for a small ingredient?"
It is a real cost, and for a by-product oil sold in small volumes it is a meaningful one. But the alternative is that the only number distinguishing one bottle from another is never actually measured. If a seller cannot provide it, that is not necessarily dishonesty — it is simply a limit on what you can know, and worth pricing into the decision.
Why Sidr & Stone
We are not a blackcurrant seed oil supplier and this page does not end with a blackcurrant recommendation. We wrote it because the question underneath it is the question our own category is built on: when an oil is sold on a named compound, is that compound actually measured in the bottle you are buying?
Our answer for our own product is a published one:
- An independently verified per-batch thymoquinone figure, tested by Analytice, an ISO-accredited French laboratory, and published with a Certificate of Analysis you can look at
- Organically grown Ethiopian highland Nigella sativa, selected after a 36-supplier evaluation
- Cold-pressed below 40°C to protect the heat-sensitive thymoquinone
- 100% pure — a single ingredient, nothing added
- Unrefined, which preserves the oil's natural integrity
- Bottled in matte black UV-protective glass
- Halal certified
- 10% of profits to charity
- Fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US
We will not tell you our oil is the strongest or the best — that is precisely the kind of unverifiable claim this article argues against. What we will say is that the number on our label was measured by a named laboratory, per batch, and that you can read the certificate. If more of the GLA shelf worked that way, an article like this one would be a great deal shorter. For the compound itself and why measurement is the whole argument, see our explainer on thymoquinone in black seed oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is blackcurrant seed oil?
It is an oil pressed from the seeds of Ribes nigrum, the blackcurrant bush, usually recovered from the pomace left after the berries are pressed for juice. It is sold mainly for its gamma-linolenic acid content.
How much GLA does blackcurrant seed oil contain?
It varies by genotype. A survey of 36 blackcurrant genotypes by Ruiz del Castillo and colleagues, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2002, found GLA generally at 11–19% of total fatty acids, with three genotypes reaching 22–24%.
Is blackcurrant seed oil the same as blackcurrant extract?
No. Blackcurrant extract and juice powder come from the fruit and are sold on anthocyanins. The seed oil comes from the pips and is sold on fatty acids. They are different products from the same plant.
Blackcurrant seed oil or evening primrose oil — which has more GLA?
Blackcurrant seed oil generally carries more. Evening primrose sits around 8–10% GLA in the reference literature, while blackcurrant typically runs 11–19%. Borage oil is denser than either. Blackcurrant's distinguishing feature is its omega-3 content rather than its GLA density.
Is blackcurrant seed oil edible, or only for the skin?
Both forms are sold. It appears as an oral supplement, usually in softgels, and as a cosmetic carrier oil. Check which one you are buying, because cosmetic-grade oils are not made or labelled for consumption.
Is there an authorised health claim for blackcurrant seed oil in the UK?
No. Neither blackcurrant nor gamma-linolenic acid appears in the list of permitted health claims established by Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, which is published in the UK on legislation.gov.uk and forms the basis of the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register maintained by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Does Sidr & Stone sell blackcurrant seed oil?
No. We make a single product, a cold-pressed Ethiopian black seed oil from Nigella sativa — a different plant and a different compound. We wrote this because the question a blackcurrant seed oil buyer is really asking is the same one we answer about our own bottle.
Is black seed oil a medicine?
No. Black seed oil is a food supplement, not a medicine. It has a long traditional history and an interesting body of research around thymoquinone, and can be a worthwhile part of a healthy routine — but it does not cure diseases and is not a substitute for medical care. Be cautious of any black seed oil marketed with specific disease-cure claims.
Final Thoughts
Blackcurrant seed oil is a genuinely interesting little oil. It is a by-product that turns out to carry an unusual combination of fatty acids, and the composition science behind it is solid, specific and easy to check. That is more than can be said for a lot of what sits beside it on the shelf.
What it is not is a settled clinical proposition, and it is not a product whose strength you can infer from the label. The published GLA range spans roughly two-fold across genotypes, which means the only bottle you can really judge is one that tells you what is in it and shows you who measured it. That is a reasonable thing to expect, and asking for it costs nothing.
If it was our own oil you came looking for, our cold-pressed Ethiopian black seed oil — with an independently verified per-batch thymoquinone figure — is available now, with fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Shop Sidr & Stone Cold-Pressed Ethiopian Black Seed Oil — Verified 2.67% Thymoquinone →
Disclaimer: This article describes the botany, composition and regulatory position of blackcurrant seed oil at the time of writing; published figures, product specifications and claims registers may change, and readers should check current sources. Sidr & Stone does not sell blackcurrant seed oil. Black seed oil is a food supplement, not a medicine, and is not a substitute for medical treatment of any condition. For any health concern, consult a qualified medical professional.