The Sambong in Our Backyard Died. Here Is What I Use for My Kidneys Now

In May 2024, I urinated blood.

I went to the hospital. The doctor ordered an ultrasound. The result: a 0.4cm calcium oxalate kidney stone sitting quietly in my urinary tract, probably building up for months while I went about my day not feeling dramatic about anything.

I went through a 60-day pH balance protocol. Changed my diet. Added buko water on weekends. Followed up with another scan. The stone was gone.

That experience permanently changed how I think about kidney health. Not as something to worry about after a diagnosis — but as something to maintain before there is anything to worry about.

We had sambong growing in the backyard. My mom used it regularly. It was just there, the way useful things in Filipino households just exist without anyone making a big announcement about them.

Then the sambong died.

And I realized I had been quietly depending on it more than I noticed.

What Sambong Actually Is

Sambong (Blumea balsamifera) is not folk medicine in the vague, unverified sense. It is one of only ten herbal medicines officially approved by the Philippine Department of Health. It is officially recognized by the DOH as an herbal medicine for dissolving kidney stones and helping the body release excess water through urination — making it a go-to natural remedy for kidney support, UTI symptoms, and fluid retention. Ebosya

That DOH approval is not ceremonial. It is backed by actual clinical research. Clinical studies conducted by the National Integrated Research Program on Medicinal Plants showed that sambong formulation effectively reduced the size and number of kidney stones among urolithiasis patients — and the effects were comparable to potassium citrate medication, without causing urinary potassium loss the way thiazide diuretics do. Philippine Council for Health Research and Development

For context: potassium citrate is a prescribed pharmaceutical drug for kidney stones. Sambong — a plant that grows in Filipino backyards — performed comparably in clinical testing. That is not a small finding.

A 2025 literature review published in the journal Tropical Environment, Biology, and Technology confirmed that sambong contains bioactive compounds including camphor, limonene, cineole, and sesquiterpenes responsible for its therapeutic effects — and that it was commonly prepared as a tea, decoction, or tablet form and officially recognized by the DOH for treating kidney stones. ResearchGate

That review, worth noting, was authored by a researcher from Surigao Del Norte State University — right here in Surigao City. The science on sambong is not happening only in Manila labs. It is being studied locally, by researchers from the same province where I live and where my family has been drinking sambong tea for decades.

Why Sambong Is Getting Harder to Find

Here is something I did not expect when our backyard sambong died: it is genuinely difficult to find fresh sambong in Surigao City now.

Sambong is described as a weed and a ruderal species — meaning it typically grows on disturbed land and in grasslands, thriving in open areas. Wikipedia The irony is that the more urbanized a city becomes, the less space there is for the plants that used to just grow naturally everywhere. Vacant lots get built on. Open fields become subdivisions. The weeds that were once abundant become things you have to look for.

In the province, in rural barangays, in areas with more open land — sambong is still easy enough to find. In the city, it is another story.

The tablet form is available at pharmacies and some health stores. That is an option — and for anyone who cannot find the fresh plant, Pascual Labs and other manufacturers produce DOH-compliant sambong tablets. But for daily maintenance tea the way we used to make it at home, fresh leaves from the backyard are simply not there anymore.

So I needed an alternative.

Enter Pansit-Pansitan — The Weed That Never Left

Pansit-pansitan (Peperomia pellucida) — also called ulasimang bato, sinaw-sinaw in Bisaya — is still in our backyard. It grows with absolutely no encouragement, in the shaded corners where almost nothing else bothers to grow. It looks like a small, heart-shaped succulent weed that most people walk past without noticing.

Pansit-pansitan has long been recognized as a medicinal herb and used in traditional medicine to treat gout and rheumatic pains — and the DOH has included it among the 10 medicinal plants it recommends, alongside sambong, lagundi, bawang, ampalaya, and others. Philstar.com

Two of the ten DOH-recommended medicinal plants are growing in our backyard. One died. One is still going strong. That is the state of our home pharmacy in 2026.

Pansit-pansitan has documented anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties, which could theoretically benefit kidney function by promoting urine flow and reducing inflammation. Caring Sunshine The traditional use for kidney and urinary health is backed by those diuretic properties — increased urination helps flush the kidneys, similar to how sambong works.

The stronger clinical evidence for pansit-pansitan is actually in gout and uric acid management. Researchers from UP Manila's Institute of Herbal Medicine developed a pansit-pansitan tablet that demonstrated a 40% reduction in uric acid levels by Day 14 of clinical trials, reaching 63% by Day 28 and 78% by Day 49 — with no adverse effects reported, in contrast to conventional gout treatments that may pose risks to kidney and liver health. GMA News Online

High uric acid is directly connected to kidney stone formation — uric acid stones are one of the most common types alongside calcium oxalate. So pansit-pansitan supporting lower uric acid levels is not unrelated to kidney health. It is part of the same system.

I already wrote a separate dedicated post about pansit-pansitan and its full range of benefits. The short version here: do not pull it out of your garden. It is trying to help you.

My Current Routine — What I Actually Do

After the kidney stone in 2024, my doctor gave me a 60-day protocol and told me to follow up. The stone cleared. But the habits stayed.

Buko water on weekends. I wrote about this at length — fresh coconut water as a regular weekend ritual. Naturally hydrating, mildly diuretic, and something I actually look forward to instead of forcing myself to drink.

Pansit-pansitan tea when the backyard supplies it. Boil a handful of fresh stems and leaves in two glasses of water for about 15 minutes, let it cool to room temperature, drink one cup in the morning. It tastes mild — slightly earthy, not unpleasant. My mom drinks it too, which in our house is the final verification of any herbal remedy. If she approves, it's legit.😄

Sambong tablets as backup. Since fresh sambong is harder to find now, I keep a supply of the tablet form from the pharmacy. Not daily — but when I feel that familiar lower back heaviness that my kidney stone history has taught me to take seriously.

Walking 2km home. My daily walk is not specifically a kidney health strategy, but adequate physical activity supports blood flow to the kidneys and helps the body process fluids more efficiently. The kidneys benefit from everything that supports general circulation.

Water throughout the day. Consistent, plain water. Not waiting until thirsty. Not replacing it with softdrinks or instant juice. The single most important factor in kidney stone prevention — diluted urine cannot concentrate minerals into crystals the way dehydrated urine can.

What the DOH's Ten Recommended Herbal Medicines Are

Since both sambong and pansit-pansitan are on the list — here are all ten, for reference:

Bawang (garlic) — hypertension, high cholesterol Lagundi — cough, asthma, fever Akapulko — skin fungal infections Bayabas (guava) — wounds, diarrhea, toothache Ampalaya (bitter gourd) — blood sugar management Niyog-niyogan — intestinal worms Sambong — kidney stones, diuretic Tsaang Gubat — diarrhea, stomach pain Ulasimang Bato / Pansit-pansitan — gout, uric acid, anti-inflammatory Yerba Buena — pain relief, headache

All ten are plants that grow in the Philippines. Most of them have DOH backing and clinical research behind them. Most of them are either in Filipino backyards or available at the local market. The pharmacy is not always the first stop — sometimes the garden is.

Mavs' Final Diagnosis

The sambong in our backyard died quietly sometime between my kidney stone protocol in 2024 and now. No dramatic exit. It just stopped growing one day and did not come back.

I miss it. Not sentimentally — practically. It was convenient, it was free, and decades of Filipino folk medicine plus DOH clinical trials agree that it works.

But the pansit-pansitan is still there. The buko vendor is still on my route home. The water tumbler is still on my desk. The sambong tablets are at the pharmacy two streets away.

The backyard changes. The routine continues.

And maybe this season, I plant a new sambong. It is technically a weed — it should not be that hard to find a cutting somewhere. If a Surigao Del Norte State University researcher is writing academic papers about it, surely there is a plant growing somewhere in Surigao City that I can find.

I just have to look harder than I used to. 

System Disclaimer: The information in this post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Herbal remedies support general health but do not replace medical treatment for diagnosed conditions. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider before starting any herbal regimen, especially if you have existing kidney disease or are taking medications. Think of this post as a diagnostic report — your doctor is the one who runs the actual repair.