Licorice root is the most well-studied herb for raising low blood pressure, with a clear mechanism that causes your body to retain sodium and water. A few other herbs show promise, including rosemary and ginseng, though the evidence is thinner. If you deal with chronic low blood pressure or frequent dizziness when standing, understanding how these plants work can help you decide whether they’re worth trying.
Low blood pressure generally means a reading below 90/60 mmHg. Orthostatic hypotension, the type where you feel lightheaded after standing up, is defined as a drop of at least 20 points systolic or 10 points diastolic within three minutes of getting to your feet. Both types can cause fatigue, brain fog, and fainting.
Licorice Root: The Strongest Evidence
Licorice root is so effective at raising blood pressure that it’s actually a well-documented cause of high blood pressure in people who consume too much of it. Its active compound, glycyrrhizin, blocks an enzyme in your kidneys that normally keeps cortisol in check. When that enzyme is suppressed, cortisol floods the kidney’s mineral-regulating receptors, triggering your body to hold onto sodium and release potassium. More sodium means more water retention, which increases blood volume and pushes blood pressure up.
This isn’t subtle. Case reports of people developing dangerously high blood pressure from licorice candy and supplements are common enough that the European Union’s scientific committee on food set a daily upper limit of 100 mg of glycyrrhizin, roughly equivalent to 50 grams of licorice. For someone with low blood pressure, that mechanism is potentially useful rather than harmful, but it needs to be approached carefully. Too much licorice can cause low potassium levels, muscle weakness, and heart rhythm problems. If you take blood pressure medications, diuretics, or corticosteroids, licorice can amplify or interfere with their effects.
Licorice root is available as tea, chewable tablets, and standardized extract capsules. Look for products that list glycyrrhizin content so you can track your intake. “Deglycyrrhizinated licorice” (DGL), which is sold for digestive issues, has the blood-pressure-raising compound removed and won’t help with hypotension.
Rosemary Essential Oil
Rosemary has traditional use as a circulatory stimulant, and a clinical trial involving 32 patients with diagnosed low blood pressure tested rosemary essential oil over 72 weeks. Both systolic and diastolic readings improved by clinically significant amounts throughout the treatment period. Patients also reported better physical function and mental well-being on quality-of-life surveys, improvements that tracked directly with their blood pressure increases.
The study used rosemary essential oil rather than the culinary herb, which is an important distinction. Essential oils are highly concentrated. The typical approach is adding a few drops to a diffuser or inhaling directly from the bottle, not ingesting the oil. Rosemary tea and fresh rosemary in cooking contain some of the same volatile compounds but at much lower concentrations, and there’s no clinical data confirming those forms raise blood pressure reliably.
Ginseng as a Blood Pressure Normalizer
Panax ginseng (Korean or Asian ginseng) has a reputation for raising blood pressure, but the reality is more nuanced. Research shows ginseng acts as a normalizer: it tends to raise blood pressure when it’s low and lower it when it’s high. This bidirectional effect comes from its active compounds, called ginsenosides, which promote nitric oxide production in blood vessel walls. Nitric oxide relaxes blood vessels and improves circulation overall.
For someone with low blood pressure, ginseng’s ability to improve blood flow and vascular tone may help the cardiovascular system respond more effectively to changes in posture and activity. The blood-pressure-raising effect appears more pronounced at typical supplemental doses, while higher doses of ginsenosides lean toward a blood-pressure-lowering effect. This makes ginseng a relatively gentle option, but also a less predictable one compared to licorice root. If your blood pressure is already normal or high, ginseng is unlikely to push it higher.
Caffeine-Containing Herbs
Caffeine is one of the most reliable short-term blood pressure boosters available, and several herbs deliver it naturally. Guarana seeds contain roughly twice the caffeine concentration of coffee beans. Green tea and black tea provide moderate amounts alongside other plant compounds. Yerba mate, a South American tea, is often mentioned in this category, though a randomized clinical trial in healthy adults found that a single serving of yerba mate did not significantly change blood pressure, heart rate, or blood vessel function. Its caffeine content is lower than coffee, which may explain the lack of acute effect.
A systematic review of caffeine for orthostatic hypotension found that doses between 100 and 300 mg improved seated blood pressure in several studies, though results for standing blood pressure were inconsistent. That 100 to 300 mg range translates to roughly one to three cups of coffee or an equivalent amount of guarana. Caffeine works by blocking receptors that normally dilate blood vessels, causing temporary constriction and a pressure increase. The effect kicks in within 30 minutes and typically lasts a few hours. The catch is that regular use builds tolerance, so caffeine becomes less effective at raising blood pressure over time.
Herbs That Won’t Help (and One That’s Banned)
Ginger is sometimes recommended for low blood pressure, but the pharmacological evidence points in the opposite direction. Animal research shows ginger lowers blood pressure by blocking calcium channels in blood vessel walls, causing them to relax. This is the same mechanism used by a common class of blood pressure medications. While ginger supports healthy circulation and may help with nausea related to blood pressure drops, it’s not going to raise your numbers.
Ephedra (ma huang) is the herb most people think of when it comes to stimulating the cardiovascular system, and it does powerfully raise blood pressure. However, the FDA banned dietary supplements containing ephedra’s active compounds in 2004 because even low doses over short periods caused heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and psychosis. It is not a safe option for managing low blood pressure.
Practical Considerations
Herbal remedies for low blood pressure work through different mechanisms and timelines. Licorice root changes how your kidneys handle sodium and water, producing a sustained effect that builds over days to weeks. Caffeine-containing herbs produce a fast, temporary boost. Rosemary and ginseng fall somewhere in between, with effects that may develop gradually with regular use.
One risk worth understanding is that combining multiple herbs with cardiovascular effects can produce unpredictable results. A case report documented a patient who drank a mixture of 14 herbs and arrived at the hospital with a blood pressure of 77/46, well into dangerous territory. Seven of those herbs had blood-vessel-relaxing properties. More herbs does not mean more benefit, and mixing supplements without understanding their individual effects increases the chance of an interaction.
If you’re taking any medications, particularly for heart conditions, diabetes, or hormonal disorders, check for interactions before adding herbal supplements. Licorice in particular interacts with a long list of drugs, including blood thinners, corticosteroids, and diuretics. Starting with one herb at a time and monitoring your blood pressure at home with a cuff gives you the clearest picture of what’s actually working.