DGL Licorice
Also sold as: Licorice Root (DGL)
Best-in-class: DGL Licorice
Licorice with the blood-pressure-raising glycyrrhizin removed — soothes the stomach and supports the mucosal lining for reflux and ulcers.
DGL Licorice quick facts
| Suggested dose | Chewable ~380–760 mg before meals. |
| How often | Per meal, chewed |
| Who it's for | Reflux, indigestion and stomach-lining support. |
The deglycyrrhizinated part is the safety story and it matters: whole licorice at supplement doses has caused genuine hypertension and hypokalemia, including hospital admissions. DGL avoids that entirely while keeping the mucosal effect. Chewable forms work better than capsules because saliva mixing appears to be part of the mechanism. Useful for reflux and gastritis where the problem is barrier rather than acid volume.
How DGL Licorice actually works
Deglycyrrhizinated licorice increases mucus secretion from gastric goblet cells and improves mucosal blood flow, which strengthens the barrier rather than reducing acid. Removing glycyrrhizin is not cosmetic — glycyrrhizin inhibits 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, causing cortisol to act on mineralocorticoid receptors, which raises blood pressure and drops potassium.
Where to get DGL Licorice
Find DGL Licorice on iHerb →What it is, why it recurs, and where this fits — free to read.
The H. pylori Protocol →What it is, why it recurs, and where this fits — free to read.
The evidence for DGL Licorice
Graded by what exists behind each claim.
✅ Clinically validated
- Studied for supporting gastric mucosa and easing reflux/ulcer symptoms.
- DGL form avoids licorice's blood-pressure/potassium side effects.
📊 Correlative data
- Licorice root has long European and Chinese use for stomach complaints. The deglycyrrhizinated form exists because the epidemiology of ordinary licorice is clear and unpleasant — regular intake raises blood pressure and drops potassium, with documented hospitalizations. DGL removes the compound responsible.
🧪 Theoretical / extrapolated benefits
- Predicted to work by increasing mucin secretion and mucosal blood flow rather than by suppressing acid — a fundamentally different mechanism from a PPI, and the reason it is proposed as complementary rather than alternative.
- The deglycyrrhizination is the whole safety argument: removing glycyrrhizin removes the 11β-HSD2 inhibition that raises blood pressure and drops potassium. Predicted to retain the mucosal effect without the mineralocorticoid one, which is plausible but not directly demonstrated.
How to read these tiers: they say how much human evidence exists, not how well something works — and ✗ flags harm, never a disappointing trial. How the evidence tiers work →
What DGL Licorice actually does
DGL is the only product in this catalog defined by a molecule that has been removed, and the removed molecule is an enzyme inhibitor. Whole licorice root carries glycyrrhizin, a triterpene saponin at roughly 2 to 8 percent of root dry weight. Gut bacterial beta-glucuronidase hydrolyzes it to 18-beta-glycyrrhetinic acid, and that metabolite is a potent inhibitor of 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 Wahab 2021. Deglycyrrhizination strips glycyrrhizin to under about 3 percent of its original content, which is a specification, not a botanical fact.
The enzyme it inhibits is the reason cortisol is not a mineralocorticoid. The mineralocorticoid receptor binds cortisol and aldosterone with roughly equal affinity, and circulating cortisol runs a hundred to a thousand times higher than aldosterone. What keeps aldosterone in charge of the distal nephron is 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2, which converts cortisol to inactive cortisone inside the tubular cell before it can reach the receptor. Inhibit that dehydrogenase and cortisol occupies the receptor: sodium is retained, potassium is dumped, blood pressure rises, and plasma renin activity and aldosterone are both suppressed Patel 2021.
The circulating molecule that does the damage is not the one on the label. Risk tracks the concentration of glycyrrhizin metabolites rather than the swallowed dose, and 3-monoglucuronyl-glycyrrhetinic acid accumulates in people whose hepatic uptake transporters are saturated or impaired Yoshino 2021. That is why two people on the same 500 mg of root can have different blood pressures 6 weeks later, and why the reported cases cluster in people with liver disease, low potassium or high intake.
What is left after deglycyrrhizination is a flavonoid fraction. Glabridin, liquiritin, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin survive the process, and these are the compounds credited with the mucosal effects: increased mucin output from gastric goblet cells, prostaglandin-dependent mucosal defense, and inhibition of Helicobacter pylori adhesion in vitro Wahab 2021. None of them inhibits the dehydrogenase above at ordinary intakes, which is the entire point of the product.
And the mechanism implies a route of administration, which the capsule ignores. A mucin and prostaglandin effect on the gastric and esophageal lining is a contact effect. Traditional DGL is a chewable tablet taken 20 minutes before food specifically so that saliva and mucosal contact are part of the dose. A swallowed capsule that opens in the stomach delivers the same milligrams to a different surface for a different duration, and no trial has shown those are equivalent.
Cell, rodent, human — and where it stops
Three human trials exist for licorice preparations, and no two of them used the same material. That is the whole difficulty with this page, and it is worth setting out in order.
In rodents, deglycyrrhizinated root behaves as an antioxidant. A DGL root supplement reduced markers of oxidative damage in bleomycin-injured rat lung Gad El-Hak 2022. That is a genuine result about the flavonoid fraction and it is 2 organ systems away from reflux. It supports the idea that DGL is not inert; it supports nothing about heartburn.
In people, the trial with the word deglycyrrhizinated in its title is not about the gut. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of fermented deglycyrrhizinated licorice reported efficacy in diabetic polyneuropathy Massoud 2026. Fermentation is a further processing step that changes the flavonoid profile again, so this trial's material is a third substance, and its endpoint is nerve symptom scores rather than mucosal healing.
The best-designed gastrointestinal trial used a branded extract that is not DGL. A phase III, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial of GutGard reported improvement in gastroesophageal reflux symptoms Raj 2025. GutGard is a flavonoid-standardized Glycyrrhiza extract with a low glycyrrhizin specification, which makes it a cousin of DGL rather than the same thing: DGL is defined by what was taken out, and GutGard is defined by what was concentrated in. Buying a generic DGL chewable on the strength of that trial is a substitution nobody has validated.
The famous evidence is the evidence nobody can check. The reputation of DGL for peptic ulcer rests on small European trials of a specific chewable preparation published in the 1970s and 1980s, before Helicobacter pylori was identified as the cause of most ulcers and before proton pump inhibitors existed. Any modern claim of equivalence to those trials is a claim about a 40-year-old product that is not on the shelf.
DGL Licorice — which form, and does it matter
Four different materials are sold under one heading, and the packaging rarely distinguishes them. Whole licorice root extract, which contains glycyrrhizin and carries the blood pressure risk. DGL, which has had glycyrrhizin removed to a specification. A flavonoid-standardized extract such as the one used in the reflux trial Raj 2025. And fermented DGL, the material in the polyneuropathy trial Massoud 2026. Only the second of those is what “DGL” means.
The number that defines a DGL product is the residual glycyrrhizin and almost no label carries it. Deglycyrrhizination is a process with a tolerance, not a guarantee of zero. The relevant question for a vendor is milligrams of glycyrrhizin per serving by high-performance liquid chromatography, which is a routine assay. Absent that number, a consumer cannot distinguish a product at under 1 percent residual from one at 4 percent, and the second one is a blood pressure drug taken daily.
Chewable and capsule are different products even at the same milligram figure. The mucosal mechanism above is a contact mechanism, so a 400 mg chewable held in the mouth and swallowed slowly before a meal is not interchangeable with a 400 mg capsule swallowed with water. Nothing in the literature tests the capsule against the chewable, and the tradition that produced the dosing instruction produced it for the chewable.
Watch the excipient share in chewables. A DGL chewable is mostly not DGL: it is a mannitol or sorbitol base with fructose, and a tablet weighing 1,000 mg may declare only 380 or 400 mg of the extract. That is not a criticism of the product, it is a reason to read the extract figure rather than the tablet weight, and a reason people on low-FODMAP protocols react to a supplement that should be inert.
And an extract ratio is not a standardization. “4:1 licorice root” describes how much raw root was concentrated, not how much of anything is in the result. Root glycyrrhizin content varies severalfold across growing conditions and species within Glycyrrhiza Wahab 2021, so a fixed ratio applied to variable starting material gives a variable product.
What would have to be true, and how you would know it was not
1. Predict that a true DGL product leaves blood pressure and potassium untouched, and check it, because that is the whole promise. Baseline blood pressure and serum potassium, repeat at 8 weeks. Prediction: no change, because the dehydrogenase inhibitor has been removed. A systolic rise above 8 mmHg or a potassium below the reference range on a product sold as DGL is evidence that the deglycyrrhizination specification was not met, and it is a reportable product problem rather than a side effect Patel 2021.
2. The confirmatory pair of hormones, for anyone who wants to settle it properly. Plasma renin activity and aldosterone, together as the aldosterone-to-renin ratio. Apparent mineralocorticoid excess suppresses both, which is the pattern that distinguishes licorice from primary aldosteronism, where aldosterone is high Yoshino 2021. Prediction on DGL: both stay normal. That is a 1-visit test and it is definitive.
3. The symptomatic prediction, with a timescale and a confounder. What to watch is reflux episode frequency and the need for antacid rescue, recorded daily. How long before it means anything is 2 to 4 weeks, since the mucosal mechanism is a repair mechanism rather than an acid blocker. What will fool you is that reflux fluctuates with meal timing, body weight and alcohol on a weekly cycle, so a good fortnight proves nothing without a diary of the confounders beside it.
4. Predict no effect on Helicobacter pylori eradication. The adhesion data are in vitro Wahab 2021. A urea breath test or stool antigen test before and 6 weeks after a DGL course is a definitive read-out, and the prediction is that it does not convert. A documented conversion without antibiotics would be a genuinely important result.
5. The prediction that cuts against the whole category. If a trial compared a DGL chewable against a swallowed DGL capsule at equal milligrams and found them identical, the contact mechanism argued above would be wrong and the traditional dosing instruction would be folklore. Predict they differ, and note that nobody has run it, which is why the instruction survives on authority rather than data.
What nobody has tested yet
Nobody has assayed residual glycyrrhizin across the market. The metabolite concentrations that predict pseudoaldosteronism are known Yoshino 2021 and the products that could produce them are sold without a number. A survey of 30 on-market DGL products reporting milligrams of glycyrrhizin per serving would take one laboratory a fortnight and would tell every user of this category whether the specification means anything.
Nobody has repeated the classic ulcer trials with a modern product. Reflux and ulcer management changed completely with eradication therapy and acid suppression, and no adequately powered trial has tested a current DGL chewable against placebo on top of standard care. The GutGard trial shows the design is feasible Raj 2025; nobody has run the DGL version of it.
Nobody knows which flavonoid does the work. Glabridin, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin have separate in vitro profiles and no human study has isolated any of them. Until one does, “standardized to flavonoids” is standardization to a class rather than to an active, which is a weaker claim than it sounds.
And the fermented material is unexplained. A fermentation step improved a clinical outcome in nerve symptoms Massoud 2026, and no published work identifies what fermentation changes chemically. That is an open question with a commercial answer waiting behind it.
DGL Licorice — its own safety story, not its category's
The safety story here is inverted: the risk belongs to the product this one is not. Whole licorice root taken daily produces hypertension, hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis and, in the reported cases, muscle weakness and arrhythmia Patel 2021. Every one of those follows from inhibiting the same dehydrogenase, and a genuine DGL product should carry none of it. The failure mode is buying the wrong bottle rather than taking too much of the right one.
The people at risk are identifiable in advance. Risk rises with cumulative intake, with low body weight, with existing hypokalemia and with impaired hepatic handling of the glycyrrhizin metabolites Yoshino 2021. Anyone on a thiazide or loop diuretic is already losing potassium, and adding an apparent mineralocorticoid excess on top of that is the interaction that produces the emergency department presentations.
Digoxin is the drug interaction that is genuinely dangerous. Digoxin toxicity is potentiated by low potassium, and glycyrrhizin lowers potassium through the mechanism above. This is a pharmacodynamic interaction, so a digoxin level will look reassuring while the risk is rising, which is what makes it easy to miss.
What DGL still carries. Licorice flavonoids have weak estrogenic activity in vitro, the excipient load in chewables is a genuine issue for people managing fermentable carbohydrates, and allergic reactions to Fabaceae are possible since Glycyrrhiza is a legume. None of these is common; all of them are specific to this product rather than borrowed from its category.
Two situations where the answer is not to use it. Pregnancy, where glycyrrhizin exposure has been associated with adverse outcomes and where a product whose residual content is undeclared cannot be assumed to be at zero Wahab 2021; and any diagnosed hypertension or heart failure being managed with a diuretic, where the cost of a mislabeled bottle is highest. This is not medical advice and not a diagnosis, and reflux that persists or worsens is a reason to see a clinician rather than to increase a supplement.
Sources read for this page
- Yoshino T. Clinical Risk Factors of Licorice-Induced Pseudoaldosteronism Based on Glycyrrhizin-Metabolite Concentrations: A Narrative Review. Front Nutr 2021 · PMID 34604277
- Wahab S. Glycyrrhiza glabra (Licorice): A Comprehensive Review on Its Phytochemistry, Biological Activities, Clinical Evidence and Toxicology. Plants (Basel) 2021 · PMID 34961221
- Patel P. How Much Is Too Much? Exploring Pseudohyperaldosteronism in Glycyrrhizic Acid Toxicity From Chronic Licorice Root Consumption. Cureus 2021 · PMID 34422484
- Gad El-Hak HN. Evaluating the protective role of Deglycyrrhizinated licorice root supplement on bleomycin induced pulmonary oxidative damage. Toxicol Mech Methods 2022 · PMID 34488542
- Massoud AMA. Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy of fermented deglycyrrhizinated licorice for treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy. Endocrine 2026 · PMID 41627541
- Raj JP. Efficacy and Safety of GutGard in Managing Gastroesophageal Reflux-Related Symptoms: A Phase III, Single-Centre, Double-Blind, Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res 2025 · PMID 39929150
How you would know if it worked
There is no blood test for this one. That is not a criticism — it is a fact about the effect, and it changes how you should judge it.
- What to watch: Meal-triggered burning and indigestion in the hour after eating, with the tablet chewed before the meal rather than swallowed after it. This raises mucin secretion and mucosal blood flow instead of suppressing acid, so what it should touch is discomfort tied to eating — not the acid breakthrough that wakes you at three in the morning.
- How long before it means anything: Two to four weeks of consistent pre-meal dosing. Mucosal defense is built rather than switched on, which is exactly why this reads as an adjunct to acid suppression rather than a replacement that works from the first tablet.
- What will fool you: Buying the wrong product. Ordinary licorice raises blood pressure and drops potassium through 11-beta-HSD2 inhibition, and those systemic effects get misread as the remedy doing something. A PPI still on board, or recently stopped, makes the weeks after the switch unreadable for the same reason.
Run it one variable at a time. Starting three things in one week means a result you cannot attribute, which is the same as no result.
DGL Licorice — safety & side effects
- DGL is deglycyrrhizinated specifically to remove the dangerous part — glycyrrhizin, which causes potassium loss, sodium retention and hypertension. That makes DGL far safer than whole licorice.
- But check the label says DGL. Whole licorice at sustained intake has caused severe hypokalemia, arrhythmia and hypertensive crisis, and it is worse alongside diuretics and digoxin.
- Even DGL: GI upset is the main report. Not established as safe in pregnancy or breastfeeding — not because harm is documented, but because these are the two populations systematically excluded from the trials. Absence of data is not reassurance.
Not medical advice. If you take prescription medication or have a diagnosed condition, check this against it with a pharmacist or doctor — pharmacists are underused and free.
- When to take it, and what to take it with
- Which form actually absorbs
- Who it's worth it for
- Best-in-class brand pick
- Coach Cam's stacks and notes
- Fasted or with food, and when in the day
- Morning or night, and why that window
- Around training, or deliberately away from it
- What it must not share a window with
Everything above is free and stays free. Skool is where it becomes a plan — DGL Licorice in an order, with the rest of what you're running.
Unlock in Skool — $10/mo →Bloodwork to run alongside DGL Licorice
Baseline first, then again at 8–12 weeks.
| Marker | What it’s watching for |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) | Potassium. Whole liquorice lowers it and raises BP; DGL shouldn't. Verify yours |
| hs-CRP (High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein) | The gut inflammation it's taken for |
| Ferritin | Reflux and gastritis are common causes of occult iron loss |
The Gut Health & Absorption panel covers these in one order — 11 markers, $208.80 with the discount applied.
Check results you already have → · All 103 markers A–Z
DGL Licorice — frequently asked questions
What is DGL Licorice?
Licorice with the blood-pressure-raising glycyrrhizin removed — soothes the stomach and supports the mucosal lining for reflux and ulcers.
What is the suggested dose of DGL Licorice?
Chewable ~380–760 mg before meals. This is a general reference for education only — statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and this is not medical advice.
Where can I find DGL Licorice dosing and the full breakdown?
The suggested dose and the full evidence — clinical, correlative and theoretical — are on this page. What's inside Skool is when to take it, which form actually absorbs, the brand worth buying and Coach Cam's stacks.
Where can I buy DGL Licorice?
Coach Cam sources DGL Licorice from vetted, top-rated brands on iHerb — use the buy link on this page.
DGL Licorice inside a finished plan
One arm of 1 Protocol Blueprint, free to read in full.
What DGL Licorice is used for
DGL Licorice appears under 2 goals in the goal router.
Related Gut & Digestion supplements
Where this goes next
DGL Licorice is the gut-lining arm of this plan. The page above is the free breakdown of one compound; the plan it belongs to — the dosing, the order to correct things in, the week-by-week schedule and what to retest — is a lesson inside Skool.