Science Supports the Traditional Use of Licorice

Licorice is a leading traditional herbal answer to liver problems. Now, modern science is on board with the tradition.

Licorice is an important liver herb in traditional medicine and a revered herb in the herbal traditions of China and Japan. You may know licorice better as a candy, but long before it was a candy, it was a medicinal herb.

A new meta-analysis has put licorice’s reputation as a liver herb to the test. It included 15 controlled studies of 1,367 people. The studies included different licorice preparations and included studies of licorice either alone or in combination. The question the analysis looked at was what effect licorice had on liver enzymes in people with primary liver disease.

The answer was that licorice significantly reduced ALT and AST compared to placebo or standard care.

This meta-analysis provides scientific support to the long and venerable tradition of licorice as a liver herb.

Phytother Res. 2024;38(9):4614-27.