Home Ingredients Garden Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Garden Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Rumex acetosa
Evidence Level
Preliminary
3 Clinical Trials
6 Documented Benefits
1/5 Evidence Score

Garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a sour leafy green in the buckwheat family, eaten in soups, sauces and salads. Its leaves are rich in oxalic acid, in amounts that vary widely with growing conditions. It is a different plant from yellow dock (Rumex crispus), whose root is sold as a bitter herb, and from roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa), also called red sorrel, brewed as a red drink. Sorrel herb is one of five herbs in the European sinus product Sinupret, but those trials tested the whole blend. No human trial has tested sorrel on its own by mouth, so its reported effects on the stomach, blood vessels and platelets come only from lab and animal studies. US food data for raw dock greens list vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium. Its oxalate makes large amounts a concern: fatal oxalic acid poisoning after sorrel soup and kidney inflammation after a large amount of sorrel have each been reported once.

Studied Dose No human oral dose of garden sorrel on its own has been tested. Animal studies gave extracts by mouth at 100 mg/kg (mice) or 2 g/kg (rats). Sinupret trials used 480 mg a day of a five-herb blend, which cannot be credited to sorrel. As a food, keep to small servings.
Active Compound Oxalic acid and oxalate salts; anthraquinones (emodin, chrysophanol and physcion and their glucosides); proanthocyanidins and other flavonoids; vitamin C.

Benefits

Sour leafy green with vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium

US food data for raw dock (Rumex species) list, per 100 g, about 48 mg of vitamin C, 200 micrograms of vitamin A (RAE), 390 mg of potassium, 103 mg of magnesium and 2.9 g of fiber at 22 calories. The entry is not specific to garden sorrel, and the leaf's oxalate limits how much is sensible to eat.

Supported by Trial 2, Trial 1

Oxalate content that changes with growing method and plant part

Garden sorrel leaves measured 2.7 to 9.5 mg of total oxalate per gram fresh weight in one analysis, most of it insoluble. In another, wild-collected leaves held 0.38 mg/g but field-grown plants held 8.5 mg/g, against 1.3 to 1.8 mg/g cited for spinach from an older report. A soup made with sour cream held far less oxalate per 100 g than the raw leaf.

Supported by Trial 1, Trial 3

One of five herbs in the Sinupret extract

Sorrel herb makes up 3 of 13 parts of BNO 1016 (Sinupret extract), with gentian, primula, elder flower and verbena. In two pooled placebo-controlled trials in 589 adults with acute viral sinus symptoms, 480 mg a day of the blend for 15 days eased symptom scores more than placebo. The maker funded the trials, and these results belong to the blend, not to sorrel.

Supported by Trial 1, Trial 2

Proanthocyanidin mouth rinse tested in healthy volunteers

A rinse with a proanthocyanidin-rich sorrel extract was tested in 35 people without gum disease who carried a gum bacterium. Used for 7 days and followed to day 14, it did not differ from placebo on bacteria, plaque or gum bleeding at any time point, and no severe adverse events occurred. This was a rinse used in the mouth, not sorrel taken as food or a supplement.

Supported by Trial 1, Trial 2

Stomach lining findings in a mouse study

In mice, whole-plant sorrel extracts given by mouth before an acid and alcohol challenge reduced stomach lesions, with the ethanol extract protecting more than the water extract. The authors linked this to emodin content. Sorrel tea is a folk stomach remedy, but no study has measured this effect in people.

Supported by Trial 1

Blood vessel and platelet findings in rats

Sorrel leaf extract injected into anesthetized rats lowered blood pressure and relaxed isolated aorta through nitric oxide and calcium-channel effects. Separately, extract reduced the clumping of rat platelets in the lab. Neither study gave sorrel by mouth, and blood pressure and platelet effects have not been tested in people.

Supported by Trial 3, Trial 1

Mechanism of action

1

Oxalate binds calcium and other minerals

Oxalic acid binds calcium and other minerals in food, which can lower their absorption. Oxalate that is absorbed leaves the body in urine, where high levels favor calcium oxalate stones. Cooking in water leaches soluble oxalate, and eating sorrel with calcium-rich foods such as dairy turns more of it into insoluble salts.

2

Anthraquinones and drug transporters

Sorrel contains anthraquinones such as emodin, chrysophanol and physcion. In cell studies the extract blocked the gut uptake transporter OATP1A2 and emodin inhibited the efflux pump P-glycoprotein. In rats the extract lowered blood levels of the antihistamine fexofenadine, a drop not marked significant, while emodin alone raised them. None of this is measured in people.

3

Nitric oxide and platelet signaling in rat tissue

In rat aorta, sorrel extract relaxed blood vessels partly through endothelial nitric oxide and by limiting calcium entry. In washed rat platelets it reduced calcium signaling and integrin activation, the steps that let platelets clump. Both are tissue and cell findings.

Clinical trials

1
Sorrel Extracts and Stomach Lining Injury: Mouse Study (lab)
PubMed

Animal and cell study comparing water and 70% ethanol extracts of the whole Rumex acetosa plant, given by mouth before an HCl and ethanol stomach challenge, with the drug sucralfate as a positive control. (Bae et al. 2012, Biomol Ther (Seoul))

Mice, 5 per group, plus a mouse macrophage cell line; no human participants.

At 100 mg/kg by mouth, the ethanol extract protected the stomach lining by 90.9% and the water extract by 41.2%, compared with 84.4% for sucralfate, and pretreatment reduced inflammation, swelling and bleeding on tissue exams. In cells the extracts lowered nitric oxide and scavenged free radicals. The authors linked the stronger ethanol extract to its higher emodin content. Animal findings only.

2
Sorrel Extract and Fexofenadine Absorption: Rat and Cell Study (lab)
PubMed

Cell transporter experiments plus a rat pharmacokinetic study of Rumex acetosa extract, or its component emodin, given by mouth 30 minutes before the antihistamine fexofenadine. (Ahn et al. 2020, Pharmaceutics)

Transfected cells and rats; no human participants. Rats received 2 g/kg of extract, described as the highest dose without toxicity in rats.

The extract inhibited the gut uptake transporter OATP1A2 and lowered fexofenadine's water solubility, and emodin inhibited P-glycoprotein. With 6 rats per group, fexofenadine blood exposure (AUC) was about 132 ng·h/mL with the extract versus 222.0 in controls, a drop the paper's table did not mark as statistically significant, while emodin alone significantly raised it to 411.9. The authors say clinical studies are needed.

3
Sorrel Leaf Extract and Blood Pressure: Rat and Tissue Study (lab)
PubMed

Animal and isolated-tissue study of a 70% methanol extract of Rumex acetosa leaves and its fractions, injected intravenously into anesthetized normotensive and hypertensive rats, with mechanism work in rat and rabbit aorta. (Qamar et al. 2018, Pharm Biol)

Anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats and isolated rat and rabbit aortic rings; no human participants.

The crude extract lowered mean arterial pressure in a dose-dependent way, by 27.9% at 50 mg/kg, and the water fraction had a stronger effect. In aortic rings it relaxed vessels through endothelial nitric oxide and calcium-channel effects, partly blocked by L-NAME, indomethacin and atropine. The extract was injected, not swallowed, so the results do not show what eating sorrel does.

Side effects and drug interactions

Common Potential side effects

Garden sorrel is high in oxalate. High dietary oxalate raises urinary oxalate, a risk factor for calcium oxalate kidney stones, so people with a history of kidney stones or kidney problems should keep sorrel to small, occasional servings or avoid it.
Eating large amounts can cause serious harm. A death from oxalic acid poisoning after sorrel soup was reported in 1989, and a 2015 report described acute kidney inflammation after a large amount of sorrel. These are single case letters whose full text could not be read, so the amounts and patient details are not given here.
Oxalate varies widely between plants; field-grown sorrel measured over 20 times the oxalate of wild-collected leaves in one study. Cooking in water and eating sorrel with calcium-rich foods such as dairy lower the soluble oxalate.
When foraging, garden sorrel can be confused with other docks such as yellow dock (Rumex crispus), which has its own anthraquinone and oxalate cautions.
No safety data exist for concentrated sorrel extracts, or for use beyond normal food amounts in pregnancy, breastfeeding or children.

Important Drug interactions

Drugs absorbed through gut transporters (such as fexofenadine): in a rat study, a large oral dose of sorrel extract lowered fexofenadine blood levels by about 40%, a drop not marked statistically significant, which the authors linked to blocking the uptake transporter OATP1A2. Not studied in people; separating sorrel extracts from such medicines is a reasonable precaution.
Blood thinners and antiplatelet drugs: sorrel extract reduced rat platelet clumping in the lab, a theoretical additive concern not studied in people.
Calcium, iron and magnesium supplements: oxalate can bind these minerals and reduce their absorption when taken with a sorrel-rich meal.

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Frequently asked questions about Garden Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Is garden sorrel the same as red sorrel or hibiscus?

No. Red sorrel is a common name for roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa), whose red calyces are brewed into hot and cold drinks; it has its own page and its own research. Garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a sour green leaf in the buckwheat family, and the two plants are not closely related.

How is garden sorrel different from yellow dock?

Both are Rumex species, but garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is eaten as a leafy green, while yellow dock (Rumex crispus) is mainly sold as a dried root herb. Both store oxalate, and a death has been reported after eating each plant (sorrel soup in one case, curly dock in the other), so neither should be foraged and eaten in quantity.

How much oxalate is in a serving of sorrel?

It depends heavily on the plant. One analysis found 273 to 954 mg of total oxalate per 100 g of fresh leaves, and another found far less in wild-collected leaves than in field-grown ones. A sorrel soup made with sour cream measured 70 mg per 100 g, and the authors advise eating sorrel in small amounts with calcium-rich foods.

Why is sorrel listed among the herbs in Sinupret?

Sinupret is a German herbal medicine made from gentian root, primula flower, sorrel herb, elder flower and verbena. Its trials tested the full five-herb blend, so they say nothing about what sorrel does alone. No trial has tested sorrel by itself in people.

What is Garden Sorrel?

Garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a sour leafy green in the buckwheat family, eaten in soups, sauces and salads. Its leaves are rich in oxalic acid, in amounts that vary widely with growing conditions.

What is Garden Sorrel used for?

NutraSmarts does not list Garden Sorrel under a health category. What the research covers: US food data for raw dock (Rumex species) list, per 100 g, about 48 mg of vitamin C, 200 micrograms of vitamin A (RAE), 390 mg of potassium, 103 mg of magnesium and 2.9 g of fiber at 22 calories.

What is the recommended dosage of Garden Sorrel?

No human oral dose of garden sorrel on its own has been tested. Animal studies gave extracts by mouth at 100 mg/kg (mice) or 2 g/kg (rats). Sinupret trials used 480 mg a day of a five-herb blend, which cannot be credited to sorrel. Always follow the product label and check with a healthcare provider for personal advice.

Is Garden Sorrel safe, and does it have side effects?

Side effects and cautions reported for Garden Sorrel include: Garden sorrel is high in oxalate. High dietary oxalate raises urinary oxalate, a risk factor for calcium oxalate kidney stones, so people with a history of kidney stones or kidney problems should keep sorrel to small, occasional servings or avoid it. It may also interact with some medications. Garden Sorrel is not right for everyone, so check with a healthcare provider first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a medical condition, or take prescription medication.

Does Garden Sorrel interact with any medications?

Possible interactions include: Drugs absorbed through gut transporters (such as fexofenadine): in a rat study, a large oral dose of sorrel extract lowered fexofenadine blood levels by about 40%, a drop not marked statistically significant, which the authors linked to blocking the uptake transporter OATP1A2. If you take prescription medication, check with a pharmacist or doctor before using it.

How strong is the scientific evidence for Garden Sorrel?

NutraSmarts rates the evidence for Garden Sorrel as Preliminary (1 out of 5). It is backed by 3 study summaries and 16 cited references summarized on this page. A higher rating reflects more, larger, and better-designed human studies.

References(16 citations)

Evidence ratings on NutraSmarts are based on the totality of human clinical research, with emphasis on randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews. The references below directly support claims made throughout this page.

  1. Tuazon-Nartea J, Savage G. Investigation of Oxalate Levels in Sorrel Plant Parts and Sorrel-Based Products. Food and Nutrition Sciences. 2013;4(8):838-843. doi: 10.4236/fns.2013.48109.SourceUsed to support: Not PubMed-indexed; open-access paper, read. Measured oxalate in garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa): leaves held 273.0 to 953.8 mg total oxalate per 100 g fresh weight, of which 42.0 to 124.8 mg was soluble; stems held 334.9 to 491.6 mg. A sorrel soup made with sour cream held 70.1 mg total and 12.7 mg soluble oxalate per 100 g. The authors suggest eating sorrel in small amounts with calcium-rich foods, especially for people prone to kidney stones.
  2. Ceccanti C, Brizzi A, Landi M, Incrocci L, Pardossi A, Guidi L. Evaluation of Major Minerals and Trace Elements in Wild and Domesticated Edible Herbs Traditionally Used in the Mediterranean Area. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2021;199(9):3553-3561. doi: 10.1007/s12011-020-02467-3.PubMedUsed to support: Analysis of wild-collected and cultivated leaves of four Italian wild greens (full text read). Rumex acetosa leaves held 0.38 mg oxalate per g fresh weight when collected wild, 0.27 mg/g when grown soilless, 1.40 mg/g in pots and 8.50 mg/g in open fields, the highest of the species tested; the authors compare spinach at 1.3 to 1.8 mg/g from an older report. They note that high dietary oxalate raises urinary oxalate, a major risk factor for calcium oxalate stones.
  3. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: Dock, raw (Rumex spp.), SR Legacy, FDC ID 170076. USDA FoodData Central. 2019;SR Legacy release, published April 2019; accessed 2026..SourceUsed to support: Not PubMed-indexed; official US food composition database, read. Per 100 g of raw dock (Rumex species, not specific to garden sorrel): 22 kcal, 2.0 g protein, 2.9 g fiber, 48 mg vitamin C, 200 micrograms RAE vitamin A, 390 mg potassium, 103 mg magnesium, 44 mg calcium and 2.4 mg iron. The entry lists no oxalate value.
  4. Noonan SC, Savage GP. Oxalate content of foods and its effect on humans. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 1999;8(1):64-74..PubMedUsed to support: Review: oxalates bind calcium and other minerals, and extra dietary oxalic acid excreted in urine may contribute to urinary stones. Soaking and cooking reduce oxalate by leaching. Diets low in calcium and high in oxalate are not recommended, though occasional high-oxalate foods within a varied diet were judged not to pose a particular problem.
  5. Farré M, Xirgu J, Salgado A, Peracaula R, Reig R, Sanz P. Fatal oxalic acid poisoning from sorrel soup. Lancet. 1989;2(8678-8679):1524. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)92967-x.PubMedUsed to support: Case report published as a letter, indexed under its title: a death from oxalic acid poisoning after eating sorrel soup. PubMed carries no abstract, so the amount eaten and the patient's details are not given here. A single case, cited for safety.
  6. Selçuk SN, Gülhan B, Düzova A, Tekşam Ö. Acute tubulointerstitial nephritis due to large amount of sorrel (Rumex acetosa) intake. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2015;53(5):497. doi: 10.3109/15563650.2015.1033061.PubMedUsed to support: Case report published as a letter from a pediatrics department in Ankara, indexed under its title: acute kidney inflammation (tubulointerstitial nephritis) attributed to eating a large amount of garden sorrel. PubMed carries no abstract, so the amount and the patient's details are not given here. A single case, cited for safety.
  7. Mithril C, Dragsted LO. Safety evaluation of some wild plants in the New Nordic Diet. Food Chem Toxicol. 2012;50(12):4461-7. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2012.09.016.PubMedUsed to support: Safety evaluation of four wild food plants, including sorrel, by comparing their bioactive compounds with those of common foods. Most compounds were within the range of normal foods and judged minor hazards; the one specific precaution was for common lambsquarters because of its presumed high oxalic acid. The authors call for better composition data before daily eating of significant amounts of wild plants can be regarded as safe.
  8. Vasas A, Orbán-Gyapai O, Hohmann J. The Genus Rumex: Review of traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology. J Ethnopharmacol. 2015;175:198-228. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2015.09.001.PubMedUsed to support: Review of the roughly 200 Rumex species: some are eaten as vegetables and used in folk medicine; the genus is rich in anthraquinones, naphthalenes, flavonoids, stilbenoids and phenolic acids. The authors note that the high oxalic acid level of some species can cause toxicity, including kidney stones, if eaten in large quantity, and that safety and efficacy studies are needed before clinical trials.
  9. Jund R, Mondigler M, Stammer H, Stierna P, Bachert C. Herbal drug BNO 1016 is safe and effective in the treatment of acute viral rhinosinusitis. Acta Otolaryngol. 2015;135(1):42-50. doi: 10.3109/00016489.2014.952047.PubMedUsed to support: Blend study, not sorrel alone. Pooled analysis of two randomized, placebo-controlled trials (589 adults with acute viral rhinosinusitis) of BNO 1016 (Sinupret extract), a dry extract of gentian root, primula flower, sorrel herb, elder flower and verbena herb in the ratio 1:3:3:3:3 (full text read). 480 mg a day for 15 days lowered the major symptom score more than placebo (2.47 vs 3.63). Funded by the maker, Bionorica; one author was its employee and two were its consultants. The effect cannot be credited to sorrel.
  10. Ali BH, Al Wabel N, Blunden G. Phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological aspects of Hibiscus sabdariffa L.: a review. Phytother Res. 2005;19(5):369-75. doi: 10.1002/ptr.1628.PubMedUsed to support: Review of Hibiscus sabdariffa, known in English as roselle or red sorrel, whose calyces are used in many parts of the world to make cold and hot drinks. Cited here only to show that this unrelated plant shares the common name sorrel with garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa); its research belongs to the hibiscus page.
  11. Bae JY, Lee YS, Han SY, Jeong EJ, Lee MK, Kong JY, Lee DH, Cho KJ, Lee HS, Ahn MJ. A Comparison between Water and Ethanol Extracts of Rumex acetosa for Protective Effects on Gastric Ulcers in Mice. Biomol Ther (Seoul). 2012;20(4):425-30. doi: 10.4062/biomolther.2012.20.4.425.PubMedUsed to support: Animal and cell study (full text read): water and 70% ethanol extracts of the whole Rumex acetosa plant, given by mouth at 100 mg/kg before an HCl and ethanol challenge, reduced stomach lesions in mice (protection 90.9% for the ethanol extract and 41.2% for the water extract). The extracts also scavenged free radicals and lowered nitric oxide in mouse macrophage cells. No human data.
  12. Ahn JH, Kim J, Rehman NU, Kim HJ, Ahn MJ, Chung HJ. Effect of Rumex Acetosa Extract, a Herbal Drug, on the Absorption of Fexofenadine. Pharmaceutics. 2020;12(6):547. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12060547.PubMedUsed to support: Cell and rat study (full text read): Rumex acetosa extract inhibited the gut uptake transporter OATP1A2 in cells, its major component emodin inhibited P-glycoprotein, and the extract lowered the water solubility of fexofenadine. In rats (6 per group) given 2 g/kg of extract by mouth 30 minutes before fexofenadine, the drug's blood exposure (AUC) was about 132 versus 222.0 ng·h/mL in controls, a difference the table did not mark as significant; emodin alone (11 mg/kg) significantly raised it to 411.9. The authors say clinical studies are needed.
  13. Qamar HM, Qayyum R, Salma U, Khan S, Khan T, Shah AJ. Vascular mechanisms underlying the hypotensive effect of Rumex acetosa. Pharm Biol. 2018;56(1):225-234. doi: 10.1080/13880209.2018.1446031.PubMedUsed to support: Animal and tissue study (full text read): a methanol extract of Rumex acetosa leaves and its fractions, injected intravenously into anesthetized rats, lowered mean arterial pressure (a 27.9% fall at 50 mg/kg for the crude extract). In isolated rat and rabbit aorta the extract relaxed blood vessels through endothelial nitric oxide and calcium-channel effects. Not oral and not human.
  14. Jeong D, Irfan M, Lee DH, Hong SB, Oh JW, Rhee MH. Rumex acetosa modulates platelet function and inhibits thrombus formation in rats. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2020;20(1):98. doi: 10.1186/s12906-020-02889-5.PubMedUsed to support: Laboratory study using platelets washed from rat blood (full text checked; no oral dosing): Rumex acetosa extract inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation and ATP release in a dose-dependent way and reduced calcium signaling, integrin activation and clot retraction. Lab work on rat platelets; not tested in people.
  15. Selbach S, Klocke A, Peters U, Beckert S, Watt RM, Tong R, Flemmig TF, Hensel A, Beikler T. Microbiological and Clinical Effects of a Proanthocyanidin-enriched Extract from Rumex acetosa in Periodontally Healthy Carriers of Porphyromonas gingivalis: a Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. Planta Med. 2023;89(11):1052-1062. doi: 10.1055/a-1728-2249.PubMedUsed to support: Topical use, not oral intake. Randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study in 35 people without gum disease who carried the bacterium P. gingivalis: a mouth rinse with 0.8% proanthocyanidin-enriched Rumex acetosa extract, used three times daily for 7 days after professional cleaning, showed no significant differences from placebo in bacteria, gum bleeding, plaque or cell measures at any time point through day 14; plaque and bleeding scores fell only in within-group comparisons of the rinse group. No severe adverse events. Two authors filed a related patent application.
  16. Kang DM, Khalil AAK, Park WS, Kim HJ, Akter KM, Bae JY, Mehtap Büyüker S, Kim JH, Kang KK, Ahn MJ. Anti-Helicobacter pylori Activity of Six Major Compounds Isolated from Rumex acetosa. ACS Omega. 2023;8(45):42548-42554. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c05282.PubMedUsed to support: Chemistry and test-tube study of isolated compounds: the six major compounds isolated from Rumex acetosa extract fractions were the anthraquinones emodin, chrysophanol and physcion and their 8-O-glucosides. Each slowed the growth of H. pylori bacteria in test tubes. The authors say safety in the human body still needs study.