# Liquorice root (glycyrrhiza)

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/licorice-root/  
OnCo record `licorice-root` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Liquorice root is a flavouring and a common ingredient of Chinese herbal formulas. Mouthwashes containing it have small studies for mouth sores during radiotherapy, but regular use of liquorice containing glycyrrhizin raises blood pressure and drains potassium, and has caused dangerous heart rhythms and cardiac arrest. It interacts with diuretics, heart drugs and blood pressure medicines.

## Summary

Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra and G. uralensis) root flavours foods and is used in traditional Chinese medicine to balance herbal formulas. Memorial Sloan Kettering's About Herbs summary lists clinical benefits for dyspepsia, reflux, postoperative sore throat (topical gargles, confirmed by systematic reviews) and, as a mouthwash or mucoadhesive film, for radiation-induced mucositis; a meta-analysis found herbal formulas containing liquorice eased chemotherapy gut toxicity in colorectal cancer. It notes that chronic ingestion of even moderate doses has been associated with hypertension and hypokalaemia. The adverse reactions MSK records include pseudohyperaldosteronism, ventricular fibrillation and other arrhythmias, cardiac arrest after excessive consumption, hypertensive crisis with pulmonary oedema, haemorrhagic stroke and aortic dissection. Liquorice may potentiate cardiac glycoside toxicity, worsen potassium loss with diuretics, interfere with blood pressure drugs, greatly reduce cyclosporine bioavailability in studies, and altered anticoagulation in a case report. Deglycyrrhizinated extracts avoid the glycyrrhizin effect.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: established
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: Licorice
- Tags: complementary; supportive-care; evidence:harm
- Principle: Glycyrrhizin's metabolite blocks 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2, letting cortisol act on kidney mineralocorticoid receptors, which retains sodium and loses potassium.
- Strengths: Topical gargles and mouthwashes have trial support; Deglycyrrhizinated forms avoid the main toxicity
- Limitations: Hypertension, low potassium and fatal arrhythmias with regular oral use; Many drug interactions; Hidden in herbal formulas

## Sources

- MSK About Herbs: Licorice (page last updated 20 October 2026): https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/licorice

## Connected records

- technologies: [Baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis)](https://onco.cc/technologies/scutellaria-baicalensis/), [Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang (Hochuekkito)](https://onco.cc/technologies/bu-zhong-yi-qi-tang/), [Dietary supplements during cancer treatment: interactions and harms](https://onco.cc/technologies/dietary-supplements-treatment-interactions/), [Evidence-based integrative oncology](https://onco.cc/technologies/integrative-oncology/), [Traditional Chinese herbal medicine alongside treatment](https://onco.cc/technologies/traditional-chinese-herbal-medicine/)
- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- bottlenecks: [Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/)

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