Dr. Auer

Dr. Auer is an Austrian line of alkaline mineral preparations created by the general practitioner Dr. Wolfgang Auer. Its best-known product is Basenpulver, a powder dissolved in water and sold as a food supplement for what German-language naturopathy calls "Übersäuerung", or over-acidification of the body. The line, which the company calls its "Basenfamilie", also includes capsules and a sea-salt bath, Basenbad. It is owned and produced by Aapospa natürliche Heilmittel GmbH, a family company that lists its registered seat in Vienna [2].

The company dates its founding to 1999 and says the products are sold only through pharmacies. The brand has a contested public record: in 2003 an Austrian parliamentary inquiry questioned a government press release that promoted the powder, and stated that the manufacturer had previously been barred from advertising it with health claims [5]. Dr. Auer remains active, with its website maintained and its products on sale.

Wolfgang Auer earned his doctorate in 1988 and in 1992 opened a general medical practice in Neumarkt in der Steiermark, a town in the Austrian province of Styria. According to the company, he also trained in naturopathy. In the late 1990s he developed Basenpulver, a mix of mineral salts intended, in the company's words, to help the body regulate its acid-base balance.

The company's own history names him as founder of the business in 1999 [4]. It also stresses that, despite the success of several products, Auer still works mainly as a doctor in Neumarkt. The company presents him as "the man behind Basenpulver, Exadipin and co.", tying his name to the wider range that followed.

Sources differ on how far back the story goes. The company timeline gives 1999 for the founding and mid-2000 for the market launch. The Basenpulver website, by contrast, says the powder was developed "twenty years ago" as the firm's first preparation; on a page revised in 2025, that would place its creation around 2005 [1]. The earlier date is consistent with the founder's biography, which places the powder's development in the late 1990s. A 2003 Austrian parliamentary document also already refers to the product by name [5]. The owner company's history section is itself still headed "20 Jahre Dr. Auer" ("20 years of Dr. Auer").

According to the company, Basenpulver Dr. Auer reached Austrian pharmacies in mid-2000. Aapospa describes it as the first sodium-free, selenium-containing alkaline mix and says it quickly became the market leader in its segment [4]. Other wording from the brand calls the formula "low-sodium" rather than sodium-free, and the product leaflet uses the same "low-sodium" description.

In the early 2000s the range grew into a small family of products. Basenbad, an alkaline sea-salt bath, and Basenkapseln, a capsule version of the powder, joined the original. The company says the capsules were created at customers' request for people who wanted a quicker option than mixing a drink.

The brand drew national political attention in 2003. On 14 May that year, a press release issued through the press service of Austria's health ministry quoted State Secretary Waneck promoting Dr. Auer's Basenpulver. The same release described a project funded by the federal research promotion fund, under which an "Institut für technische Pharmazie und Biopharmazie" was developing special alkaline powders. Together with what the release called the "Dr. Auer research team", the project was also to develop a diagnostic product allowing a simple self-test [5]. The release prompted the parliamentary inquiry described under Controversies.

From 2010 onward the owner company moved beyond over-acidification. It added preparations aimed at overweight, diabetes and rheumatism, which are sold under their own brand names rather than as part of the Dr. Auer line.

Dr. Auer is a trademark of Aapospa natürliche Heilmittel GmbH, an Austrian limited company entered in the Vienna commercial register under number FN 531411 m. Its registered seat is at Neubaugasse in Vienna [2]. The company's legal notice lists its trade as the manufacture of medicines. Some retail listings spell the name "AAPO-SPA".

An older product leaflet for Basenpulver gives a different address: "AAPO-Spa natürliche Heilmittel GmbH, 8820 Neumarkt, Österreich" [6]. Neumarkt is the town where Auer runs his medical practice. The leaflet is undated and points to a different web address, basenpulver.net, so it likely reflects an earlier arrangement. The current legal notice and a German online pharmacy's product-safety details both give the Vienna address [7].

Aapospa describes itself as an Austrian family company with a strong international focus. Besides the Dr. Auer line, it markets several other preparations, each with its own website: Arthrovital for joint complaints, CocciniaD for people with diabetes mellitus, ExadipinPlus for weight management, Basimmun for the immune system, and TRIABACplus, a gut-bacteria supplement. No acquisitions or changes of ownership are documented.

Aapospa sums up its approach as "Natur & Wissenschaft in Harmonie" (nature and science in harmony). The company says it develops special preparations for particular conditions based on scientific findings. It draws on natural ingredients and traditional remedies from around the world, such as plants used in Ayurvedic medicine. It names four guiding principles: innovative science, natural ingredients, strict testing, and high quality.

The Dr. Auer line rests on a single idea: that many everyday complaints stem from excess acid in the body. The brand's website lists tiredness, headaches, heartburn, muscle cramps, cellulite, blemished skin and hair loss among the signs. It also writes that experts believe over-acidification promotes conditions such as osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and gout. These are the company's own claims. Its tagline is "Das Original bei Übersäuerung" ("the original for over-acidification"). The company also says it was the first manufacturer to take on the subject, and that the formula has been widely copied since.

Distribution is built around pharmacies. According to Aapospa, all of its preparations are tested and approved under European rules and are sold only through pharmacies. The company says the products are stocked in every Austrian pharmacy. In German-language retail the products also appear as "Basenpulver nach Dr. Auer" and "Basenbad nach Dr. Auer" ("following Dr. Auer").

On sustainability, the company says it aims to use only sustainable raw materials. It also says it chooses suppliers on humanitarian and ecological principles, and it lists the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, an initiative on plastic packaging, among its standards. It reports supporting cultural and sports events, individual athletes and clubs, as well as aid projects in India and Bangladesh, including one called "Hilfe durch Bildung" (help through education).

Basenpulver (also sold as Basenpulver Classic) is the original product. It contains the minerals calcium, potassium and magnesium, together with selenium, and is taken as a heaped teaspoon dissolved in a glass of water once a day. The company now describes it as lactose- and fructose-free and sweetened with stevia. Its website explains the selenium content by arguing that many Europeans are short of the trace element and that many rival makers leave it out to save costs. It explains the low sodium content by pointing to the effect of too much table salt on the kidneys.

Basenkapseln are based on the same mineral recipe in capsule form. They add the microalgae spirulina and chlorella, along with vitamin E, zinc oxide and sodium selenite. The brand describes them as vegan and gelatine-free.

Basenbad is the line's only body-care product: a bath salt made from what the company calls a special alkaline sea salt, sold in 900-gram packs. The brand describes a full bath as a short break from daily life. It says the warm, mineral-enriched water helps circulation, relaxes the muscles and eases cramps. Retail listings file it with bath salts under body care.

The company's FAQ states that no side effects are known to date. It also says the sweetened powder poses no concern for people with diabetes. Both statements are the company's own and are not presented as the results of clinical trials. No patents or proprietary technologies are documented for the line.

According to the brand, the Dr. Auer Basenfamilie has won the AESCULAP pharmacy award six times [1]. The award recognises the products most often recommended in Austrian pharmacies. The years of the wins are not given, and no independent account of the awards has been found.

In July 2003 the MP Öllinger and fellow members of the Austrian parliament submitted written inquiry 604/J to the Minister of Health and Women [5]. It concerned the 14 May 2003 ministry press release in which State Secretary Waneck was quoted as suggesting that Dr. Auer's Basenpulver could help prevent conditions including gastritis, gout, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, stroke, immune weakness, chronic pain, overweight and diabetes.

The members of parliament stated that the powder does not have the effect claimed and is not approved as a medicine. They also wrote that the Austrian consumer association VKI (Verein für Konsumenteninformation) had successfully sued the manufacturer over misleading advertising with health claims banned under the Medicines Act, and that the company had been barred from promoting the product with health-related statements [5]. The inquiry does not name the court or give a date or case number for that ruling.

The inquiry asked the minister, condition by condition, which scientific studies supported each claim. It also asked whether ministry staff had written the release, how it had reached the website of the FPÖ (Freedom Party), where it appeared a day later, and whether Waneck or his staff had personal, business or political ties to the companies making, advertising or selling the powder.

Dr. Auer is active. The brand's website had its legal notice and privacy pages revised in October 2025 and carries a 2026 copyright line [3]. In October 2026 Basenbad nach Dr. Auer was listed as available at a German online pharmacy, with AAPO-SPA natürliche Heilmittel GmbH named as manufacturer [7]. Wolfgang Auer continues to practise medicine in Neumarkt in der Steiermark, according to the company.