Yes, licorice root can lower testosterone levels. The active compound, glycyrrhizin, interferes with several enzymes your body needs to produce testosterone. In one study, men consuming the equivalent of 500 mg of glycyrrhizin per day saw a 26% drop in serum testosterone. The effect appears to be temporary, with levels returning to normal after you stop taking it.
How Licorice Lowers Testosterone
Glycyrrhizin, the compound that gives licorice its characteristic sweet flavor, blocks multiple enzymes involved in testosterone production. The most important of these converts a precursor hormone (androstenedione) into testosterone. When that enzyme is inhibited, less testosterone gets made. Glycyrrhizin also blocks enzymes earlier in the hormonal chain that play roles in synthesizing both androgens and estrogens, creating a broader dampening effect on sex hormone production.
There’s a second, indirect pathway as well. Licorice prevents your body from converting active cortisol into its inactive form, cortisone. This means cortisol stays active longer and accumulates, which triggers a cascade of hormonal shifts. The excess cortisol activates receptors in the kidneys that normally respond to aldosterone, a hormone that regulates sodium and potassium. This disruption to the broader hormonal environment can further suppress androgen production.
What the Evidence Shows in Men
The testosterone-lowering effect in men is real but modest in context. In one clinical study, men taking the equivalent of 500 mg of glycyrrhizin daily experienced a 26% decrease in serum testosterone. However, another study found no significant effect, which suggests the response may depend on dose, duration, or individual variation. For men with normal testosterone levels, researchers have noted that the drop is “not usually relevant” because baseline levels are relatively high, meaning a 26% reduction still leaves most men within the normal range.
The effect also appears reversible. Testosterone levels return to baseline after you stop consuming licorice, though the exact timeline for men hasn’t been precisely mapped in studies.
Stronger Effects in Women
The testosterone-lowering property of licorice is more meaningful for women, who have much lower baseline levels to begin with. In a clinical trial, healthy female volunteers taking daily licorice root experienced a significant drop in total testosterone after one month. Levels returned to normal after they stopped.
This effect has generated particular interest for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition characterized by excess androgens that can cause acne, unwanted hair growth, and irregular periods. Animal studies have shown that licorice extract significantly reduced both total and free testosterone levels in female rats with PCOS-like symptoms, while also helping normalize the ratio of luteinizing hormone to follicle-stimulating hormone, a key hormonal marker that’s typically elevated in PCOS.
Some clinicians have explored combining licorice with spironolactone, a common anti-androgen medication prescribed for PCOS. Licorice appears to enhance the anti-androgen effect of spironolactone by blocking testosterone-producing enzymes in the ovaries and adrenal glands. It also helps counteract two common side effects of spironolactone: it reduces the diuretic effect (since licorice promotes sodium and water retention) and lowers the rate of intermenstrual bleeding, which occurs in 20 to 50% of women taking spironolactone alone.
DGL Licorice Does Not Have This Effect
If you take licorice supplements for digestive issues, you may have encountered deglycyrrhizinated licorice, or DGL. This is a processed form with the glycyrrhizin removed. Since glycyrrhizin is the compound responsible for testosterone suppression (and most of licorice’s other hormonal effects), DGL does not lower testosterone. It’s specifically designed for people who want licorice’s gut-healing properties without the hormonal side effects. If you see DGL on the label, hormonal changes are not a concern.
Risks of Regular Licorice Use
The same mechanism that lowers testosterone also creates the most serious risk of licorice consumption. By preventing the breakdown of cortisol, glycyrrhizin causes a condition called pseudohyperaldosteronism, where your body acts as though it has too much aldosterone even though aldosterone levels are actually normal or low. The result is sodium retention, potassium loss, and elevated blood pressure.
This response appears to be stronger in men than in women, possibly because of differences in how the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (which controls blood pressure and fluid balance) interacts with sex hormones. For anyone consuming licorice regularly, whether as candy, tea, or supplements, potassium depletion and rising blood pressure are the primary concerns to watch for. Symptoms of low potassium include muscle weakness, cramping, and heart palpitations.
The amount matters significantly. Occasional licorice tea or a few pieces of licorice candy won’t produce meaningful hormonal changes. The studies showing testosterone reduction used concentrated doses equivalent to several hundred milligrams of glycyrrhizin daily. Many “licorice” candies sold in the U.S. are flavored with anise rather than real licorice root and contain no glycyrrhizin at all.
How Long the Effect Lasts
The testosterone suppression from licorice is not permanent. In the clinical trial involving women, testosterone levels returned to normal after they stopped taking licorice root, with recovery observed relatively quickly. The hormonal effects depend on continued exposure to glycyrrhizin. Once you stop consuming it, the enzymes it was blocking resume normal function and testosterone production recovers. Blood pressure and potassium levels also normalize after cessation, though the timeline for full recovery can vary depending on how long and how heavily you were using licorice.