Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) · Herb Profile

At a glance

Botanical name: Glycyrrhiza glabra
Family: Fabaceae
Part used: Root
Taste: Sweet
Temperature: Neutral
Moisture: Moist

On temperature, the old sources disagree: Gerard (1633) reads it as warm; Salmon (1710) reads it as neutral; Bhavaprakasha (16th c.) and Rajanighantu (c. 15th c.) read it as cool. The app keeps neutral, the modern reading of what the herb does in the body; the old readings are shown here but do not change it. On moisture, the old sources disagree: Gerard (1633) and Bhavaprakasha (16th c.) read it as moist; Salmon (1710) reads it as neutral. The app keeps moist, the modern reading of what the herb does in the body; the old readings are shown here but do not change it.

Safety at a glance

In pregnancy

Culinary safe; concentrated avoid

While breastfeeding

Contraindicated in medicinal doses during breastfeeding — glycyrrhizin transfers; infant mineralocorticoid sensitivity.

For children

Culinary safe; avoid DGL-equivalent therapeutic doses under 12

Cautions

Avoid prolonged use; raises blood pressure and causes potassium loss; avoid hypertension

General contraindications

Limited safety data for therapeutic doses; avoid concentrated

Stewardship

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) wild populations in Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey are over-harvested. Choose cultivated or Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Chinese). Stewardship: the Yu Mi Xu / Gan Cao of both traditions asks — where does the sweetness originate, and at what cost?

In the traditional record

Licorice — Glycyrrhiza referenced in ancient Assyrian texts (700 BCE); Egyptian pharaohs were buried with licorice root; referenced in Shennong Ben Cao Jing

Which herbs suit your body?

The same herb can calm one person and wire another. Our free assessment reads your pattern across temperature, moisture and tone, then matches herbs to it.

Take the free assessment Open Licorice in the Apothecary

Teaching children at home? Eden's Table builds a full herbalism curriculum around plants like this one.

Educational use

The Apothecary is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition.

On our sources

These entries draw on public-domain materia medica, most of it published before 1900, alongside a smaller number of modern reference works. Energetic qualities such as warming, cooling, drying and moistening are a traditional framework for describing how a plant behaves in the body, not a laboratory measurement. Where a period source states one, we cite it. Where none does, and for many North American herbs none exists, the value reflects modern herbal consensus rather than a historical text. When we cannot support a caution with real evidence, we say nothing rather than guess.