Sal Ammoniac (Naosha) Is Effective in Treating Cancer

Sal ammoniac (naosha) is one of the Chinese herbal medicines that genuinely works against esophageal cancer; purple sal ammoniac (zi naosha) is especially effective. Recently I observed several patients treated with purple sal ammoniac products for esophageal carcinoma, and all achieved very obvious short-term results—results no worse than those of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or surgery. Purple sal ammoniac is not easy to buy at ordinary pharmacies, though it can be obtained readily online.

The main component of sal ammoniac is NaCl; other constituents include iron ions and sulfates. According to classical Chinese materia medica texts, sal ammoniac "regulates stomach fire, frees the bowels, and stops pain; it is used for indigestion, breaking stasis and dissipating accumulations, softening hardness and eroding putrid tissue. It chiefly treats abdominal masses (zhengjia juji), dysphagia and regurgitation, nasal polyps, throat impediment and eye pannus, welling-abscesses and scrofula, and malignant sores and warts." The Zhonghua Bencao records its actions as: dissipating accumulations and transforming hardness, resolving putridity and generating flesh, expelling phlegm, and promoting urination; it treats abdominal masses, dysphagia and regurgitation, painful throat impediment, welling-abscesses, scrofula, eye opacities, polyps, and warts.

Many of the diseases sal ammoniac treats correspond to the symptoms presented by various tumors today. Its anti-cancer mechanism probably lies mainly in its corrosive action on tumors; and because it contains sulfates, it also has a heat-purging, bowel-emptying effect. I have not personally witnessed its effect on other cancers, but its effect in relieving the inability to eat in esophageal cancer is genuinely ideal.

Sal ammoniac is a natural mineral medicinal. Because it contains impurities it has a certain toxicity; processed (prepared) sal ammoniac is less toxic. Its processing method is "water-flying." The Bencao Yanyi records: "Sal ammoniac, when used, must be water-flied, placed in a porcelain vessel, and the vessel boiled in a water bath until it dries on its own, thereby killing its poison and removing its dust and filth." The Bencao Gangmu describes the method: "Nowadays people mostly water-fly it clean, boil it dry with vinegar until it is like frost, then scrape off the frost for use."

The modern processing of sal ammoniac is roughly as follows: take clean sal ammoniac, crush it, grind it to a fine powder in a mortar, dissolve it in boiling water, and filter. Pour the filtrate into a container, add an appropriate amount of vinegar, and evaporate over a water bath; at intervals skim off the white frost that crystallizes on the surface, until no more forms, then dry it. Typically, 50g of vinegar is used per 100g of sal ammoniac. Processing purifies the drug and reduces its toxicity.

From ancient times to the present, the Chinese medicine tradition contains many records of using sal ammoniac to treat malignant tumors. There are quite a number of famous formulas taking sal ammoniac as the sovereign herb for various welling-abscess type diseases, such as Muxiang Naosha Jian Wan, Naofu Bingzi, Ersha Wan, Jiangxue San, and Naosha San—all classical formulas for welling-abscess type disorders.

But sal ammoniac is also an extremely harsh and violent poison. Using it alone is fairly dangerous: because its corrosive action is too strong, in severe cases it can cause gastric perforation and damage to liver and kidney function. If the method and dosage are not carefully controlled in clinical use, serious adverse consequences can easily result.

Below are three empirical formulas using sal ammoniac to treat cancer, for readers' reference:

1. For esophageal cancer: 30g purple sal ammoniac, add 70ml water, grind fine in a mortar, filter, add 30ml white vinegar, evaporate to dryness. Take 0.6g each time, three times daily.

2. For skin cancer: 9g purple sal ammoniac; calomel (Qingfen), realgar (Xionghuang), borax (Pengsha), and rhubarb (Dahuang) each 3g; borneol (Bingpian) 1.5g. Grind all to a fine powder, mix with sesame oil, and apply to the affected area.

3. For nasopharyngeal cancer: dissolve purple sal ammoniac in water to a saturated solution, then filter through a ceramic jar. Take 400ml of the filtered sal ammoniac liquid, add 200ml vinegar, and calcine over charcoal fire into sal ammoniac powder. Take 0.9–1.2g each time, three times daily. (Formulas 1–3 are from the Quanguo Zhongcaoyao Huibian.)