Ammonium benzoicum
Quick Facts
- What it is: A minor homeopathic remedy made by diluting ammonium benzoate, a white salt.
- Main uses: Gout-type joint pain, Dark, strong-smelling urine, Swollen, knobbly joints
- Best for: People already under a doctor's care who want to try a homeopathic remedy alongside it
- Active ingredients: Ammonium benzoate (Ammonii benzoas), diluted until none remains at 30C
- Forms: Sugar pellets, Tablets, Liquid drops, Low potencies such as 3X or 6X
- Time to effect: Not known; no trials have measured it.
- Side effects: Rare with high dilutions; the main risk is delaying real treatment.
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What is Ammonium benzoicum?
Ammonium benzoicum is a homeopathic remedy. Its Latin name is Ammonii benzoas. It is also called ammonium benzoate.
Homeopaths have used it for gout and for dark, strong-smelling urine. Old homeopathic books also link it with sore, swollen joints. It is a single remedy, used on its own, and it has always been a minor one.
Here is the verdict first. The remedy is diluted again and again, and at 30C none of the source salt is left. Trials do not tell it apart from a placebo (a dummy pill), and long tradition is not proof of effect.
How does Ammonium benzoicum work?
The honest answer is that no one has shown it works. Homeopathy holds that a tiny, shaken dose can nudge the body to fix a matching set of symptoms. That idea has not held up in testing.
The remedy is made by serial dilution. One part of the salt goes into 99 parts of water or alcohol and is shaken. A 30C remedy has been through that step 30 times.
After so many steps, no measurable salt is left. So there is no known way for it to act in the body. Changes people notice are best explained by placebo and by the body settling on its own.
What forms does Ammonium benzoicum come in?
You will most often find it as sugar pellets, small tablets, or liquid drops.
Common labels are 6C, 30C and 200C. Some makers also sell 3X or 6X. These are weaker dilutions, so more of the source salt may remain.
Pellets are meant to melt under the tongue. Drops are taken in a little water. These products are sold over the counter in many countries.
Where it comes from:
Ammonium benzoate was used in regular medicine in the 1800s for gout and bladder trouble. Homeopaths took it up in the same century and gave it short entries in their old handbooks, such as those by Clarke and Boericke. It is named in one tradition only, and only as a small remedy.
Who should avoid Ammonium benzoicum?
- Do not use if you are treating gout, a kidney problem, or a urine infection and this would take the place of the medicine your doctor gave you
- Do not use if you have serious liver disease (a liver that no longer works properly) and the label shows a low potency such as 1X, 2X or a mother tincture, because those hold real ammonium salt
- Do not use if you have advanced kidney disease and the label shows a low potency with real ammonium salt
- Do not use if you take disulfiram or metronidazole (medicines that react badly with alcohol) and the product is alcohol-based drops
- Do not use if you have ever had an allergic reaction to benzoates or to sodium benzoate (E211)
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, unless your doctor or midwife says it is fine
- Do not use if you would be giving it to a baby under one year old without a doctor's advice
- Do not use if you have a fever with back pain or pain when you pee — that needs a doctor the same day, not a remedy
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor the same day if you have a fever with back or side pain, pain when you pee, or blood in your urine.
Get urgent help if you are peeing much less than usual, if you feel confused or very drowsy, if your skin or eyes turn yellow, or if one joint is hot, red and swollen with a fever.
Book a normal appointment if joint pain or urine changes last more than a few days, keep coming back, or get worse while you are using this remedy.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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