The short answer
Yes, there is evidence of an interaction. Glycyrrhizin, the sweet compound in mulethi, makes the body hold on to salt and water and lose potassium, which raises blood pressure. In a 2024 trial, 28 healthy young adults had higher home blood pressure after two weeks of a low daily dose. A woman whose blood pressure stayed high on two medicines turned out to be drinking litres of licorice tea a day.
The European Medicines Agency says licorice root may counteract blood pressure medicines. If you take any blood pressure medicine, tell your prescribing doctor before you take mulethi, including teas, lozenges and cough products that contain it, and ask whether your blood pressure and potassium should be checked.
Common blood pressure medicines in India include telmisartan (Telma), amlodipine (Amlong), ramipril (Cardace) and metoprolol (Met XL).
At a glance
| What was seen | How it may work | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure not controlled on medicines, with low potassium, in a heavy licorice-tea drinker[2] | Glycyrrhizin makes the body hold salt and water and lose potassium (mineralocorticoid excess) | Works against blood pressure medicines | Case report |
| Higher home blood pressure, with lower renin and aldosterone, in healthy adults[1][3] | Same; renin and aldosterone are switched down | Blood pressure rises | RCT |
No listing is not a clearance. A missing interaction here never means a combination is safe.
The evidence, study by study
Randomised crossover trial in healthy adults, 2024 RCT
Twenty-eight healthy volunteers, median age 24, took licorice giving 100 mg of glycyrrhizic acid a day for two weeks and a control product for two weeks, in random order. Home systolic blood pressure rose by 3.1 mmHg on licorice, with no rise on control. Renin fell by 30% and aldosterone by 45%; these hormones help the body regulate salt and blood pressure. The trial was not blinded, and nobody in it took blood pressure medicine.[1]
Case report, the Netherlands, 2001 Case report
A 41-year-old woman whose blood pressure stayed high on atenolol and candesartan developed low potassium and cramps when hydrochlorothiazide, a water pill, was added. She was found to be drinking at least 3 litres of licorice tea a day. About two months after she stopped the tea, her blood pressure and potassium were normal and her blood pressure medicines were withdrawn. The amount of glycyrrhizin in the tea was not measured.[2]
What your doctor may watch for
- Blood pressure that is harder to control than before.[3]
- Low potassium, and swelling or weight gain from fluid held in the body. In the 2001 case, low potassium first showed up as muscle cramps.[3]
What to tell your prescribing doctor
You can read this out, or show them this page:
“I am taking, or planning to take, mulethi (licorice) as a tea, powder, lozenge or cough product (name and how much) along with my blood pressure medicine. Licorice can raise blood pressure and lower potassium. Should my blood pressure and potassium be checked?”
Withheld until review
Questions people ask
Is DGL licorice different?
DGL, deglycyrrhizinated licorice, has the glycyrrhizin taken out, so the effect on blood pressure described here may not carry over in the same way. It has not been tested with blood pressure medicines, so check the label and tell your doctor which kind you take.[4]
Does mulethi in cough syrup, lozenges or tea count?
It can. The 2001 case involved licorice tea, not a supplement. Include any tea, sweet or cough product that contains licorice when you tell your doctor what you take.[2]
Related
Mulethi (licorice) with water pills and digoxin
Mulethi and many water pills lower potassium. People taking licorice with hydrochlorothiazide had low potassium, which makes digoxin riskier.
InteractionMulethi (licorice) and steroid medicines like prednisolone
Glycyrrhizin from mulethi slowed the clearance of prednisolone in six men. A European regulator advises against licorice with corticosteroids.
InteractionTurmeric and blood pressure medicines
One dose of turmeric extract did not change nifedipine levels in 10 volunteers. In rats, curcumin raised amlodipine and losartan levels.
InteractionGarlic (lahsun) and blood pressure medicines
Aged garlic extract lowered blood pressure further in people already on BP medicines whose pressure was still high. It adds to the drugs' effect.
Sources
- Af Geijerstam P, Joelsson A, Rådholm K, Nyström FH. A low dose of daily licorice intake affects renin, aldosterone, and home blood pressure in a randomized crossover trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2024;119(3):682-691. PMID 38246526.
- Brouwers AJ, van der Meulen J. 'Licorice hypertension' also caused by licorice tea [in Dutch]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2001;145(15):744-747. PMID 11332259.
- European Medicines Agency, HMPC. European Union herbal monograph on Glycyrrhiza glabra L., G. inflata Bat., G. uralensis Fisch., radix. EMA/HMPC/108399/2024, revision 1, adopted 4 March 2026. Sections 4.4 and 4.5.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH). Licorice Root.
Awaiting review by The Good Vaidya Medical Board. Prepared from the sources below and checked against each one.
Published 4 November 2026 · Last updated 4 November 2026
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