SHEET /m/sodium-nitrate · PubChem CID 24268 · CAS 7631-99-4 · REV 2026.07
Sodium nitrate
from sourceNNaO3 · 84.995 g/mol
Sodium saltpeter · Nitrate of soda · Cubic niter · Niter
What is Sodium nitrate?
Chile saltpeter, the original curing salt for meat and, before synthetic ammonia, the world's main nitrogen fertilizer and gunpowder oxidizer. from source
Fig. 1 · 2D structure RDKit
[N+](=O)([O-])[O-].[Na+]The dose makes the poison inferred
A reported rat oral LD50 for Sodium nitrate is 1,267 mg/kg, the dose lethal to half the animals tested. Scaled by body mass alone:
“The dose makes the poison” is a cross-species estimate shown as neutral science, not a threshold anyone should act on. Real toxicity depends on the person, not body mass alone.
Toxicity & hazards
Toxicity · LD50
1,267 mg/kg · low toxicity · LD50 rat oral from source
The dose lens above scales this to a body weight.
4 more reported values
- 1,600 mg/kgLD50 · oral · rabbit
- 2,480 mg/kgLD50 · oral · mouse
- 175 mg/kgLD50 · iv · rat
- 175 mg/kgLD50 · iv · mouse
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