Mulethi (Licorice) – The Sweet Root for Throat and Voice
Discover Mulethi (licorice root), known in Ayurveda as Yashtimadhu — the sweet, cooling root traditionally chewed for a sore throat and hoarse voice, and why glycyrrhizin means it is not for everyone.
Sun, Aug 2, 2026 · 6 min read🌿 Mulethi at a Glance
Mulethi is the dried root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a low legume shrub — not a spice bark or a seed, but an actual root, harvested and dried into pale, fibrous sticks. In Sanskrit it is Yashtimadhu, “the sweet stick,” and that name is literal: the root is naturally many times sweeter than sugar, without any sugar in it at all.
Sold as whole dried sticks, coarse chips, or a fine tan powder, it has one of the gentlest reputations of any Ayurvedic herb — sweet, cooling, and soothing rather than sharp or heating like most digestive spices.
✨ Why It’s Special
- 🍬 Naturally 30–50× sweeter than sucrose by weight, entirely due to the compound glycyrrhizin
- 🕊️ Demulcent — it coats and soothes irritated tissue rather than stimulating it, unlike most throat remedies
- 🎙️ One of the few Ayurvedic herbs classed as both Jivaniya (vitalising) and Kantya (voice-clearing)
- 🚉 The chewing stick is still sold at Indian railway stations and roadside stalls, unchanged for generations
- 🌱 A root, not a leaf or seed — unusual among the household herbs it sits alongside
🏺 Traditional / Ayurvedic Uses
Rasa (Taste): Madhura (Sweet) Virya (Potency): Sheeta (Cold) Vipaka (Post-digestive): Madhura (Sweet) Dosha Effect: Pacifies Vata and Pitta; may increase Kapha in excess
Classical Applications:
- Listed by Charaka among the Jivaniya gana, the ten vitalising herbs
- Classed as Kantya — specifically indicated for clearing and strengthening the voice
- Core ingredient of Yashtimadhu churna, a classical powder for throat and voice
- Traditionally taken with honey for a dry, unproductive cough
- Used in Bhavaprakasha Nighantu among herbs suited to Pitta-related throat and eye conditions, owing to its cooling nature
💪 Benefits / Health Effects
- ✅ Throat Comfort: Its demulcent action has long made it a first response to a raw or scratchy throat
- ✅ Voice: Traditionally used by singers and speakers for hoarseness, in keeping with its Kantya classification
- ✅ Gastric Support: Has been studied for supporting the stomach’s mucosal lining
- ✅ Cough: May support relief from a dry, irritated cough when taken with honey
- ✅ Traditional Vitaliser: Placed among the Jivaniya herbs, associated in classical texts with general strength and recovery
These are traditional uses, several with early modern research behind them. Mulethi is a soothing herb, not a treatment for any respiratory or digestive condition — and, as the precautions below explain, not one to take casually or daily.
🥄 What’s in the Root
| Component | Typical role |
|---|---|
| Glycyrrhizin | 2–9% of the dried root; the source of its sweetness and its pharmacological effect |
| Flavonoids (liquiritin, isoliquiritigenin) | Contribute to its soothing, antioxidant reputation |
| Polysaccharides & mucilage | Give the root its coating, demulcent texture |
Because glycyrrhizin is also the compound responsible for licorice’s blood-pressure effect, a processed form called deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) exists specifically to remove it, keeping the demulcent flavonoids while stripping out the risk. DGL is a different product from the whole root sold for chewing.
🔄 Quick Comparison: Mulethi vs Tulsi – Two Throat Herbs
| Feature | Mulethi (Licorice) | Tulsi (Holy Basil) |
|---|---|---|
| Taste | Sweet | Pungent, bitter |
| Potency | Sheeta (Cooling) | Ushna (Warming) |
| Action | Demulcent — coats the throat | Expectorant — helps clear congestion |
| Best suited to | Dry, raw, irritated throat | Wet, congested cough |
| Dosha effect | Pacifies Vata–Pitta | Pacifies Kapha–Vata |
| Traditionally taken daily | No — glycyrrhizin limits it | Yes — a daily household tea |
The two are often reached for together in a kadha, but they answer different kinds of cough — mulethi for dryness, tulsi for congestion.
🥄 How to Use / Prepare
- 🌿 Chewed stick: A short piece of dried mulethi root chewed slowly, the traditional railway-stall use
- 🥄 Powder with honey: ¼–½ teaspoon mulethi powder stirred into a spoon of honey, taken for a dry cough
- ☕ Warm infusion: ¼ teaspoon powder or a small piece of root steeped in a cup of hot water for 5–10 minutes, strained and sipped
- 🍲 Added to kadha: A small piece of root simmered alongside ginger and tulsi in a traditional decoction
⚠️ Precautions / Warnings
This section carries real weight and should not be treated as boilerplate.
- ❗ Glycyrrhizin can cause pseudoaldosteronism — a genuine, well-documented pharmacological effect, not a theoretical caution. It raises blood pressure, causes the body to retain sodium, and depletes potassium.
- ❗ Not suitable for people with hypertension, heart disease, or kidney disease.
- ❗ Not advisable during pregnancy without a doctor’s guidance.
- ❗ Prolonged daily use — beyond roughly 4–6 weeks — is not advisable without medical supervision, even for people with no known condition.
- ❗ Interacts with diuretics and corticosteroids, compounding the risk of potassium loss and blood-pressure changes.
- ⚠️ DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice) removes this specific risk, but is a different product from the whole root discussed here.
If any of the conditions above apply, mulethi is one to skip rather than moderate.
🎉 Fun Facts / Trivia
- 🍬 The same plant flavours traditional European liquorice confectionery — the sweets and the Ayurvedic root share a botanical source
- 🏭 Glycyrrhizin is used industrially as a natural sweetener and a foaming agent, including in some beverages and firefighting foams
- 🪥 The mulethi chewing stick predates the toothbrush in parts of India, doubling for generations as a mild dental aid
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is mulethi safe to take every day? A: Not for extended periods. Its glycyrrhizin content makes daily use beyond about 4–6 weeks inadvisable without medical guidance, even for otherwise healthy people. It is best treated as an occasional throat remedy, not a daily habit.
Q: Does mulethi actually help a sore throat? A: Its demulcent mucilage coats and soothes irritated tissue, which is the traditional basis for chewing the stick or sipping an infusion. This is a soothing action, not a cure for whatever is causing the soreness. The mulethi tea for a sore throat sets out the brewing method and the two-week ceiling that goes with it.
Q: Can children chew mulethi sticks? A: Occasional chewing in small amounts is a long-standing practice, but because of the same glycyrrhizin effects that affect adults, it should not become a daily habit for children, and a doctor should be consulted for anything beyond occasional use.
Q: Is mulethi the same as the liquorice in sweets? A: They come from the same plant family and share the glycyrrhizin compound, but confectionery liquorice is a processed, sugared product, while mulethi as used in Ayurveda is the plain dried root.
Q: Does mulethi raise blood pressure? A: It can, with regular or prolonged use, through a mechanism called pseudoaldosteronism. This is a real and documented effect, which is why anyone with existing hypertension is advised to avoid it.
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📚 Sources
- Charaka Samhita – Yashtimadhu listed among the Jivaniya Dashemani (ten vitalising herbs)
- Bhavaprakasha Nighantu – Traditional classification of Yashtimadhu (Licorice)
- Pharmacology and safety reviews of Glycyrrhiza glabra and glycyrrhizin, including its association with pseudoaldosteronism, published in pharmacognosy and clinical nutrition literature