Oxalic Acid by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Oxalic acid is a strong organic acid. The dianion, form of oxalic acid is known as oxalate. Many metal ions form insoluble precipitates with oxalate, a well known example being calcium oxalate. Calcium oxalate is the most common form of kidney stone.

Oxalic acid in food
Foods that contain a very high amount of oxalic acid. include black rhubarb stalks, pepper, amaranth, parsley,  spinach, chard, cocoa, chocolate, beets, most nuts, most berries, and beans.

questions
Q. I've read many anecdotal testimonials of cancer patients drinking 12 oz of carrot juice every 24 hours until their tumors were gone, much to the amazement of their physicians. The purported active ingredient is oxalic acid. The only scientific research I've found is a test done at NCI which did show a positive response with PURE oxalic acid. What do you think about this carrot juice cancer therapy? Or diets high in oxalic acid?
   A. We have not seen any studies regarding the human use of oxalic acid supplements in terms of cancer prevention or treatment. Carrot juice has a lot of carotenoids, and whether drinking lots of carrot juice is a form of cancer treatment has not been studied to the best of our knowledge. Just because a form of treatment has not been studied does not mean it is not effective. However, there's not much we can add if we don't have see any research on these topics.

Q. I am on a low oxalate diet. I need to know the oxalic acid value of turmeric curcumin. High oxalate foods cause me to have burning pain.
   A. We are not aware of turmeric curcumin having any oxalic acid.

Q. In your web posting about oxalic acid, you mentioned that the NCI did some tests with pure oxalic acid and had some positive responses. Is it possible to address the NCI for some of their research findings, or is that not a good idea?
   A. In November of 2007 we did a Medline search for oxalic acid and cancer but could not find any published research.