Licorice root has genuine health benefits, particularly for digestion, coughs, and skin, but it comes with real risks that make the dose and form you choose matter enormously. The compound responsible for most of licorice’s medicinal effects, glycyrrhizin, is also the one that can raise your blood pressure and deplete your potassium if you consume too much. That tension between benefit and harm is the key to understanding licorice.
How Licorice Works in the Body
Licorice root contains glycyrrhizin at concentrations of 6% to 10%, and this compound drives many of the plant’s therapeutic effects. It reduces inflammation by lowering the body’s production of several key inflammatory signals, including the molecules that trigger pain, swelling, and tissue damage at injury sites. Glycyrrhizin also curbs the activity of enzymes involved in the inflammatory cascade, which is why licorice has historically been used for sore throats, joint pain, and gut irritation.
Beyond glycyrrhizin, licorice contains flavonoids like liquiritin and isoliquiritigenin that act as antioxidants and contribute to its cough-suppressing and skin-lightening properties. These secondary compounds are the reason that even forms of licorice with the glycyrrhizin removed still offer health benefits.
Digestive Benefits Have Clinical Backing
The strongest evidence for licorice’s benefits is in digestive health, especially for acid reflux. A Phase III randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 200 participants tested a standardized licorice extract against placebo for gastroesophageal reflux symptoms. The licorice group saw significant improvement in heartburn within 14 days and regurgitation within just 7 days. By day 28, participants taking licorice reported meaningfully better quality of life and reductions in symptom frequency, severity, and overall distress compared to the placebo group.
Licorice also has a long track record for ulcers. The processed form, called DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice), was actually shown to be more effective at promoting ulcer healing than the glycyrrhizin compound alone, and without the side effects. DGL works through its flavonoid content rather than glycyrrhizin, making it a practical option if you’re dealing with stomach issues but want to avoid the risks of regular licorice.
Relief for Coughs and Sore Throats
Licorice is one of the more well-studied herbal expectorants. In animal models, licorice extracts reduced cough frequency by 25% to 59% at standard doses and significantly increased mucus secretion, helping clear congested airways. The compounds most responsible for this effect are liquiritin apioside and liquiritin, both flavonoids rather than glycyrrhizin. Water-based and alcohol-based licorice extracts (the kinds most similar to licorice tea) performed well, which aligns with the traditional use of licorice tea for respiratory complaints.
Skin Lightening and Hyperpigmentation
Several compounds in licorice, including isoliquiritigenin, glabrene, and glabrol, inhibit tyrosinase, the enzyme your skin uses to produce melanin. This makes licorice extract a common ingredient in topical products targeting dark spots, melasma, and freckles. The mechanism is straightforward: by suppressing tyrosinase activity and the genes that control pigment-producing proteins, licorice slows melanin production in treated areas.
Licorice’s antioxidant activity adds a second layer of benefit for skin. Excess free radicals contribute to hyperpigmentation, and licorice’s radical-scavenging compounds help counteract that process. If you’re seeing licorice listed in serums or creams for uneven skin tone, the science behind it is reasonable, though topical application carries none of the risks associated with eating licorice.
The Serious Risks of Too Much
Here’s where licorice gets complicated. Glycyrrhizin blocks an enzyme in your kidneys that normally deactivates cortisol. When that enzyme is inhibited, cortisol builds up and starts stimulating receptors that control your sodium and potassium balance. The result mimics a condition called hyperaldosteronism: your body retains sodium and water, loses potassium, and your blood pressure rises. This isn’t a theoretical concern. Case reports document patients developing dangerously low potassium levels and refractory high blood pressure from regular licorice consumption.
The threshold for trouble is lower than most people expect. Consuming more than 3 grams of licorice root per day for longer than 6 weeks, or more than 100 milligrams of glycyrrhizin daily, can trigger sodium retention, potassium loss, and elevated blood pressure. People who already have heart disease face the highest risk, as do those taking digoxin (a heart medication) or diuretics that also deplete potassium. The combination of licorice and potassium-lowering drugs can push levels into a dangerous range.
DGL vs. Regular Licorice
The distinction between regular licorice and DGL is probably the most useful thing to understand if you’re considering licorice for health reasons. DGL is made by stripping out the glycyrrhizin molecule, leaving the flavonoids intact. This removes the compound responsible for blood pressure and potassium problems while preserving the digestive benefits. DGL is not associated with the adverse effects seen with regular licorice and is available in capsules, lozenges, wafers, and liquid form.
If your interest in licorice is primarily for stomach issues like reflux, ulcers, or mouth sores, DGL is the smarter choice. You get the therapeutic flavonoids without the hormonal disruption. If you’re using licorice for coughs or sore throats, short-term use of regular licorice tea is generally the traditional approach, but keeping it brief matters.
What This Means Practically
Licorice is genuinely beneficial for specific conditions, not just folk medicine wishful thinking. The digestive and respiratory evidence is solid, and the skin-lightening science is well-understood. But “good for you” depends entirely on how much you use, what form you choose, and what medications you’re taking. A cup of licorice tea when you have a cough is a very different proposition from eating licorice candy daily for months or taking high-dose root supplements.
If you take blood pressure medication, heart drugs, or diuretics, regular licorice (not DGL) deserves caution. For everyone else, staying under 3 grams of root per day and limiting use to a few weeks at a time keeps you well within safe territory. DGL supplements sidestep the risk equation almost entirely and are the better option for ongoing digestive support.