Witnessed by: Western
Potassium bicarbonate (Kalicinite), of the carbonate mineral (acid carbonate) family. Colourless, glassy monoclinic prisms or a white granular powder, stable in dry air; native range: kalicinite is a rare efflorescence in potassium-rich cave and mine settings; the pharmacy article is made by saturating the carbonate of potassa with carbonic acid. Globally recognized as potassium bicarbonate, bicarbonate of potassa, kalicinite in English. The part used is the crystallised salt. Colourless and glassy or white and granular, odourless, cool and mildly saline-alkaline on the tongue — without the harsh soapiness of the carbonate — and freely soluble in water.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
POTASSIUM BICARBONATE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- potassium bicarbonate
- Scientific name
- Kalicinite (potassium bicarbonate, KHCO₃)
- Family
- carbonate mineral (acid carbonate)
Form
- Part used
- the crystallised salt
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- salty (mildly saline-alkaline)
Temperature
- Western
- cool (refrigerant)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- kidneys · bladder · stomach · blood
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- antacid — it neutralises the acid of the stomach without the caustic action of the carbonate; refrigerant in fever; diuretic, and alkalising to the urine; and antiscorbutic
Cautions
- Contraindications
- impaired kidney function and any state in which potassium is retained; heart disease under potassium-sparing treatment; long use in place of a diagnosis
- Toxicity
- a potassium salt — where the kidneys cannot clear it, the accumulating potassium slows and disorders the heart; the carbonic acid it sets free distends the stomach, and long alkalising disturbs the acid-base balance
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