Does disodium hydrogen citrate (citrate) syrup cause urine color change?

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Last updated: February 11, 2025 • View editorial policy

From the Research

Urine Color Change and Disodium Hydrogen Citrate Syrup

  • There is no direct evidence in the provided studies to suggest that disodium hydrogen citrate (citrate) syrup causes a change in urine color 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
  • The studies focus on the relationship between urinary citrate levels and urinary pH, as well as the role of citrate in preventing kidney stone formation 1, 3, 5.
  • Citrate is known to form soluble complexes with calcium, preventing crystal nucleation, aggregation, and growth, which reduces the risk of calcium stone formation 3, 5.
  • The provided studies do not investigate the effect of disodium hydrogen citrate syrup on urine color, and therefore, no conclusion can be drawn on this topic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Mechanism of Urinary Citrate Excretion

  • Urinary citrate excretion is influenced by glomerular filtration, tubular reabsorption, and excretion, as well as acid-base status 1, 5.
  • Changes in urinary citrate excretion are predominantly influenced by the rate of citrate absorption from the glomerular filtrate and metabolism by the proximal tubule cell 5.
  • Acid-base status is the most important physiological determinant of urinary citrate excretion, modulating the activities of enzymes involved in citrate metabolism 5.

Clinical Relevance of Urinary Citrate

  • Hypocitraturia, or low urinary citrate excretion, is a known risk factor for kidney stone formation 3, 5.
  • Increasing urine citrate levels can decrease the precipitation of calcium stones, and dietary therapy or supplementation with potassium citrate or sodium citrate may be used to raise urine citrate levels 3, 4.

References

Research

Urinary citrate and renal stone disease: the preventive role of alkali citrate treatment.

Archivio italiano di urologia, andrologia : organo ufficiale [di] Societa italiana di ecografia urologica e nefrologica, 2009

Research

Low urinary citrate: an overview.

Journal of nephrology, 2010

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