Potassium para-aminobenzoate
Pregnancy: There are no or limited data from the use of potassium para-aminobenzoate in pregnant women, and the product is NOT RECOMMENDED during pregnancy. Breastfeeding: it is unknown whether potassium para-aminobenzoate or its metabolites are excreted in human milk, and a risk to newborns/infants cannot be excluded. Fertility: there are no or limited data on the effects of potassium para-aminobenzoate on fertility.
Potassium aminobenzoate
Brand names: Potaba
Potassium aminobenzoate is a member of the vitamin B complex group that has been used in fibrotic skin and connective-tissue conditions such as Peyronie's disease and scleroderma.
Adult dose
Dose: One sachet containing 3 g potassium para-aminobenzoate powder, taken orally, four times daily
Route: Oral. The contents of one sachet should be dissolved in cold water or fruit juice and taken orally with food
Frequency: Four times daily
Max: The SPC states a single regimen — one 3 g sachet four times daily — and gives no separate maximum dose, no upper daily total and no titration range
§4.2 verbatim, in full: 'One sachet containing 3 g Potassium para-aminobenzoate powder should be taken orally, four times daily.' Method of administration, verbatim: 'For oral use. The contents of one sachet should be dissolved in cold water or fruit juice and taken orally with food.' INDICATION SCOPE: the SPC's §4.1 therapeutic-indication text was not captured in this source bundle, and §4.2 states ONE posology with no indication-specific variation — so the regimen above applies to the product as licensed, and no indication is asserted here beyond that. POTASSIUM LOAD: each sachet contains 669 mg potassium — with four sachets a day this is a substantial daily potassium load, which is why hyperkalaemia and renal insufficiency (GFR under 45 ml/min) are absolute contraindications and why serum potassium must be checked before starting. FOOD: treatment should be interrupted during periods of low food intake (for example fasting, anorexia, nausea) to avoid the possible development of hypoglycaemia.
Paediatric dose
Dose: Not established — the safety of potassium para-aminobenzoate 3 g powder in children aged 0 to 18 years has not been established and no data are available
Route: N/A — no paediatric dose is established in this SPC
Frequency: N/A
Max: Not established
§4.2 verbatim: 'Paediatric population: The safety of Potassium para-aminobenzoate 3 g powder in children aged 0 to 18 years has not been established. No data are available.' The adult regimen has NOT been carried across, and nothing has been scaled.
Dose independently re-sourced from UK Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) via the eMC — clinician-reviewed. Always confirm against the product SmPC and your local formulary before prescribing.
Contraindications
- Hypersensitivity to the active substance potassium para-aminobenzoate, to para-substituted aromatic amines (for example benzocaine, procaine, ethyl parahydroxybenzoate), or to any of the excipients listed in section 6.1
- Renal insufficiency (GFR under 45 ml/min)
- Hyperkalaemia — each sachet contains 669 mg potassium
- Concomitant sulphonamides — these medicinal products will be inactivated by potassium para-aminobenzoate
- Severe liver damage
Side effects
- Common: nausea, vomiting, anorexia, stomach discomfort, diarrhoea
- Common: pyrexia, chills
- Uncommon: elevated liver enzymes (for example transaminases, gamma-GT, ALP, LDH)
- Uncommon: skin rash (exanthema, eczema, dermatitis, urticaria), pruritus
- Rare: hepatitis
- Not known: hypersensitivity reactions, including immunoallergic hepatitis characterised by fever, rash, oedema, arthralgia/myalgia and elevated liver enzymes
- Not known: hypoglycaemia
- Not known: drug-induced liver injury, hepatic failure
- Not known: drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) — a severe cutaneous adverse reaction which can be life-threatening or fatal
Monitoring
- Before starting treatment, take a history of pre-existing hyperkalaemia risk factors and measure an initial serum potassium in ALL patients
- For patients at increased risk of hyperkalaemia (impaired renal function, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, hypoaldosteronism and pseudohypoaldosteronism, or concomitant medicines that raise serum potassium), measure serum potassium at least monthly, or more often depending on risk assessment
- Where the initial serum potassium is raised, identify the underlying cause where possible and normalise the level before starting treatment; then monitor monthly until long-term normal levels are established
- After that, and for all other patients, monitor serum potassium at least quarterly
- Measure serum potassium promptly in any patient reporting symptoms possibly indicative of hyperkalaemia such as muscle pain or tightness, flaccid paralysis, weakness, paraesthesia, nausea, vomiting, palpitations or bradycardia
- Discontinue immediately and do not restart if signs or symptoms of hypersensitivity develop — including but not limited to severe rash, or rash with raised liver enzymes, fever, general malaise, fatigue, muscle pain, blisters, oral lesions, oedema or eosinophilia
- Advise patients of the signs and symptoms of severe cutaneous adverse reactions (DRESS) at the time of prescription and monitor closely for skin reactions; if DRESS develops, treatment must never be restarted in that patient at any time
- Interrupt treatment during periods of low food intake (fasting, anorexia, nausea) to avoid hypoglycaemia
- NOTE: the SPC's §4.4 was truncated at the source-fetch limit in this capture — these monitoring points reproduce what was retrieved and may not be complete; consult the SPC
Clinical monograph
How it works
Its mechanism is not fully established, but it is thought to have antifibrotic effects, possibly by influencing oxygen uptake and connective-tissue metabolism.
Prescribing in practice
- Gastrointestinal upset is common, and treatment should be stopped if intake of food or fluids cannot be maintained, given the theoretical risk of hypoglycaemia.
- It should be used with caution in renal impairment because of its potassium content.
- Treatment is typically prolonged, and adherence over an extended period is needed for any benefit.
Monitoring
Monitor renal function and for gastrointestinal tolerance during prolonged courses.
Counselling the patient
- Take the medicine with food to reduce stomach upset.
- Stop the medicine and seek advice if you cannot eat or drink normally.
- Benefit, if any, develops only over a long period of treatment.
Evidence & guidelines
Evidence for potassium aminobenzoate is limited and largely historical, and it is not a first-line therapy for these conditions.
Reference: SmPC; Drug verified in RxNorm (NLM); confirm dosing against the manufacturer SPC (eMC). Verify against your local formulary and current prescribing references before prescribing. The structured dose values shown have been reviewed by a clinician. Monograph status: clinician-reviewed (2026-07-04).
Related
Curated clinical cross-links plus same-class fallbacks.
Calculators