Uricosuric

Celery seed, the ajmoda of Ayurveda, is a warming diuretic seed given for gout, rheumatic complaints and fluid retention, often with juniper or nettle. The gout use is its oldest and most specific.

Celery extract inhibits xanthine oxidase and lowers serum uric acid in hyperuricaemic mice ^{10Reference 10Dolati et al. · 2018AnimalInhibitory effects of Apium graveolens on xanthine oxidase activity and serum uric acid levels in hyperuricemic mice — animal model (mouse)View study →}, a production mechanism examined in full among the xanthine oxidase inhibitor herbs. No study has measured urinary urate excretion with celery.

There is no monotherapy human trial for gout.

Couchgrass rhizome has centuries of Western herbal use for gout and rheumatic complaints and remains one of the better-known folk gout remedies ^{4Reference 4Zhakipbekov et al. · 2026Systematic reviewElymus repens (L.) Gould phytochemistry, pharmacological activities and therapeutic potential — systematic reviewView study →}. The proposed mechanism is osmotic diuresis from mannitol, inositol and the fructan triticin.

Passing more water is not the same as excreting more urate. Diluting the urine changes concentration rather than total clearance, and nothing in the couchgrass literature measures urate: no serum level, no fractional excretion, no hyperuricaemia model.

A registered randomised placebo-controlled study (n=82) tested Agropyron with mannitol and magnesium for upper-urinary-tract stone volume, a combination with a stone endpoint rather than a urate one. The demulcent and flushing effect is examined among the urinary demulcent herbs.

Cherries, sweet and sour alike, carry an old North American and European folk reputation for gout, and the modern urate studies were designed to test it. A 2026 meta-analysis of four RCTs (392 participants) found tart cherry modestly lowered serum uric acid against control (SMD −0.22) with substantial heterogeneity ^{11Reference 11Zhang et al. · 2026Meta-analysisTart cherry intake and serum uric acid — meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials and evidence from network pharmacologyView study →}.

A crossover in overweight adults found 240 mL/day of juice reduced urate ^{12Reference 12Martin et al. · 2019RCTConsumption of 100% tart cherry juice reduces serum urate in overweight and obese adults — randomised placebo-controlled crossover trialView study →}, and a 2026 trial found four weeks of a standardised 500 mg extract cut plasma urate by 37.4% and CRP by 23% ^{13Reference 13Jäger et al. · 2026RCTEffects of tart cherry extract supplementation on plasma urate and C-reactive protein levels in healthy adults — randomised controlled trialView study →}.

The direct excretion evidence is for sweet cherries. In ten healthy women, two servings of Bing cherries lowered plasma urate and raised urinary urate excretion within three to five hours ^{16Reference 16Jacob et al. · 2003Consumption of cherries lowers plasma urate in healthy women — human, acute (sweet cherry)View study →}.

The acute tart-cherry studies are often null: a single juice dose gave only a short-lived dip of about 8% with no CRP change ^{15Reference 15Hillman et al. · 2021RCTAcute ingestion of Montmorency tart cherry reduces serum uric acid but has no impact on high sensitivity C-reactive protein or oxidative capacity — randomised controlled trialView study →}, and a controlled crossover found no acute effect on urate, vascular function or inflammation ^{17Reference 17Lamb et al. · 2026RCTTart cherry juice has no acute effects on uric acid, vascular function and inflammation — randomised crossover trialView study →}. In a 282-patient gout RCT, adding cherry to a citrate mixture did not improve urate lowering beyond citrate alone, though it further reduced CRP and albuminuria ^{14Reference 14Wang et al. · 2023RCTEfficacy and safety of tart cherry supplementary citrate mixture on gout patients — prospective randomised controlled studyView study →}.