What clinical trials have tested sodium bicarbonate for vascular or erectile outcomes?
Executive summary
A single, small randomized clinical trial tested sodium bicarbonate in the specific setting of intracavernosal injections and found it reduced injection-related penile pain in 38 patients [1] [2] [3], while a broad review of available reporting finds no robust clinical trials demonstrating that oral or systemic sodium bicarbonate improves erectile function, penile blood flow, or broader vascular outcomes in humans [4] [5] [6].
1. A lone, focused clinical trial: sodium bicarbonate to reduce pain from intracavernosal injections
The clearest clinical evidence involving sodium bicarbonate and erectile medicine is a randomized study that added bicarbonate to intracavernosal vasoactive medications to test whether neutralizing acidity would reduce penile pain; the trial enrolled 38 consecutive patients and reported decreased pain with bicarbonate-added injections [1] [2] [3]. This is a narrowly scoped intervention — sodium bicarbonate was used as an adjuvant to injected vasoactive drugs, not as an oral systemic therapy aimed at improving erections or vascular function more broadly [1] [2].
2. What is not supported by trials: baking-soda-as-ED-cure remains untested in humans
Multiple consumer- and clinician-facing summaries and reviews emphasize that there are no peer‑reviewed clinical trials showing that drinking or systemically administering baking soda improves erectile function, nitric oxide signaling in the penis, or penile blood flow in humans [4] [6] [5]. Popular “30-second hard tonic” or TikTok remedies proposing oral sodium bicarbonate as an ED cure are not backed by clinical trial evidence, according to available health-site reviews and myth‑busting articles [7] [8].
3. Indirect or nonclinical research exists but cannot substitute for human vascular/erectile trials
Some experimental work and mechanistic discussion has explored bicarbonate’s effects on cellular processes such as nitric oxide regulation or macrophage signaling, and sports science literature reviews examine sodium bicarbonate’s effects on exercise performance by buffering lactic acid [7] [6]. Those lines of inquiry are preclinical or concern athletic performance and do not equate to randomized clinical trials demonstrating improved vascular or erectile outcomes in people [6] [7].
4. Safety concerns and clinical prudence underscored by reviewers
Medical summaries caution that oral ingestion of baking soda carries risks — high sodium load, potential increases in blood pressure, metabolic alkalosis, and drug interactions — and that these risks are particularly relevant for people with heart, kidney, or hypertension issues, meaning any systemic use for ED would require careful clinical evaluation [4] [8] [5]. Reviews aiming to correct misinformation therefore advise against self‑treatment with sodium bicarbonate for erectile complaints, stressing evidence‑based therapies instead [9] [5].
5. Balanced conclusion and limits of the available reporting
The current clinical-trial record, as reflected in the provided sources, supports one small, specific randomized trial where sodium bicarbonate reduced pain from intracavernosal injections [1] [2] [3] and otherwise shows no randomized clinical trials supporting oral or systemic sodium bicarbonate to improve erectile function or broader vascular outcomes in humans [4] [6] [5]. This appraisal is limited to the supplied reports: absence of further trials in these sources should not be taken as proof that no other studies exist beyond them, and readers seeking exhaustive bibliographic confirmation should consult databases like PubMed or clinicaltrials.gov directly for any newer trials not captured here [1] [2].