Sorrel, syrup of

Statema, B. C. P.

Compound

Sorrel, syrup of

Siroppo acetoso

Known today as: Probably the syrupus acetosus of the pharmacopoeias, syrup of vinegar, which the London Dispensatory gives to prepare the stomach for a vomit; the name could also mean a syrup of sorrel, Rumex acetosa, which the College made like the other sour syrups.
Kind: Compound, in 2 older authorities
Constituents: oxalic acid, potassium hydrogen oxalate
Poisoning: Oxalate poisoning
Earliest authority here: Dioscorides (c. AD 40–90)
In the Canale glossary: On the Manner of Discerning and Healing the Bewitched, Appendix A: Part Three, Chapter 5: Vomitory Medicines

Revised October 3, 2026: Tradition, lore, modern assessment, and sources extended. Checked against its sources, each read in full, in part, or in its abstract. Version 1, first published September 25, 2026.

Sorrel, syrup of: what did Canale use it for?

In the mildest vomit, with barley water (ch. 5).

Sorrel, syrup of: what does modern science say?

Sorrel is sour from its oxalate; eaten freely, the leaves have caused poisoning by their potassium binoxalate. Oxalate binds calcium and other minerals and can crystallise as calcium oxalate in the kidney; in 1989 a sorrel soup with 6–8 g of oxalic acid killed a 53-year-old man who had other conditions.

Pharmacognosy & Toxicology

Constituents

Mechanism

Oxalate binds calcium; carried to the kidney it can crystallise there as calcium oxalate and block the tubules.

Toxic dose

A lethal adult dose of oxalic acid is estimated at 10–15 g, and 4–5 g was thought the least able to kill; the fatal sorrel soup held 6–8 g.

Syndrome

Oxalate poisoning

Standing

A food in moderation.

Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.

Sorrel, syrup of: what lore surrounds it?

Culpeper says the syrup of vinegar, taken as half an ounce at bedtime the night before, makes one “vomit the easier,” which is the part the acid syrup plays in Canale’s gentlest vomit with barley water.

Sorrel, syrup of: what did the older authorities say?

Dioscorides: Gives lapathon, the docks and sorrel: the herbs boiled soothe the intestines, and the seed, in water or wine, serves for dysentery, a nauseous stomach, and the strike of a scorpion.
The cooling syrups: The London Dispensatory makes syrup of sorrel like the syrup of citron juice, among the sour syrups that “cool and comfort the heart”; the syrups of vinegar cool the body and quench thirst, and the citron syrup Culpeper gives in fevers, pestilential and not.

Sources

[43] Felter, H. W., & Lloyd, J. U. (1898). King’s American Dispensatory. Monographs as transcribed at Henriette’s Herbal Homepage, henriettes-herb.com, cited under the drug concerned. Read in full · the text read

Dioscorides, De materia medica II. Read in part · the text read
Culpeper, N. (1653). Pharmacopœia Londinensis. Read in full · the text read
Felter, H. W., & Lloyd, J. U. (1898). King’s American Dispensatory, “Rumex Acetosa.—Sorrel.” As transcribed at Henriette’s Herbal Homepage. Read in full · the text read
Salgado, N., et al. (2023). Oxalate in foods: extraction conditions, analytical methods, occurrence, and health implications. Foods 12: 3201. Read in full · the text read

Verification

Checked

October 1, 2026, and October 3, 2026

Passes

Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
Every source read, in full, in part, or in its abstract, and every sentence checked against what was read (October 3, 2026)

Sources

5 cited: 4 read in full, 1 read in part.

Corrections

None were needed.

What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.

Cite This Entry

Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026 · last revised October 3, 2026

Chicago: “Sorrel, syrup of.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 3, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/sorrel-syrup-of.
MLA: “Sorrel, syrup of.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 3 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/sorrel-syrup-of. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
APA: Sorrel, syrup of. (2026, October 3). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/sorrel-syrup-of

Download for Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley: BibTeX · RIS

Club members keep entries on a shelf with private notes, print the plates as cards, and receive an entry by email each week. Create a free account before January 1, 2027 and all of it is yours for good. About the Club