Robinia pseudoacacia
Made from black locust — the American avenue tree whose bark was an official stomach drug of the old dispensaries, and the classical remedy of the acid stomach that vomits sour.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a stomach that runs on acid: burning acidity rising to the throat, sour eructations, vomiting of intensely sour fluid, pain behind the breastbone, worse at night lying down, worse for starchy food and cheese — the portrait of the over-acid stomach. The sour-vomiting acid stomach: that is Robinia.
The substance, in plain words
Black locust is the thorned avenue tree of North America, its bark an official stomach remedy of the old United States Pharmacopeia — prescribed for hyperacidity and dyspepsia. Its flavonoid chemistry is genuinely active; the proving gave the remedy its famous sour-acid portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety with the heartburn. Worry, worse at night with the burning; the books paint the anxious dyspeptic.
- Irritability. Cross, worse from errors of diet.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the chronic, acid-fermenting states.
The body
- Vomiting of intensely sour fluid. The keynote: eructations and vomit of the sourest acid — the books' great hyperacidity remedy.
- Burning behind the breastbone. Acid burning rising to the throat, worse lying down at night.
- Worse starchy food and cheese. Bread, potatoes, macaroni and cheese set the fermentation off — the quoted dietetics.
- Night aggravation lying. The acid climbs when the body lies flat.
- Intestinal fermentation. Gas, rumbling, the whole alimentary chemistry gone sour.
- Better for rest of the stomach Sitting up, and the stomach rested, ease the burn.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| starchy food and cheese; lying down at night; errors of diet; warmth | sitting up; open air; an empty stomach |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Stomach (hyperacidity), oesophagus, digestion, bowels (fermentation).
Where the classical picture comes from
The official stomach-bark's career — the era's answer to sour dyspepsia — gave the proving its frame; Robinia became the classical remedy of the over-acid stomach, its sour vomit and starch-worse dietetics read in every old dyspepsia chapter.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Robinia bark was a genuine, official stomach drug of the USP — the dyspepsia era's stand-by, retired when antacids, then acid-suppressing drugs (H2 blockers, proton-pump inhibitors) transformed heartburn from a life sentence to a treatable symptom. The chemistry was real; the successors are better.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Iris versicolor | Sour burning digestion | Iris' vomit is sour with the sick-headache and biliousness; Robinia's is pure hyperacidity. |
| Nux vomica | Dyspepsia, irritability | Nux is the stimulant-born spasm; Robinia the sour-fermenting acid. |
| Pepsinum | Weak digestion | Pepsin is the atonic, enzyme-weak stomach; Robinia the over-acid one. |
| Arsenicum album | Burning, anxiety | Arsenicum is anxious, chilly, sipping; Robinia sour, burning and starch-worse. |