A study reveals that licorice, due to the glycyrrhizic acid it contains, can cause a significant increase in blood pressure.
- A Swedish study highlights the harmful effects of glycyrrhizic acid present in licorice on blood pressure.
- Glycyrrhizic acid, which is a component of licorice root, is present in many sweet products, including confectionery, or used as a sweetener.
- Daily consumption of licorice containing 100 mg of glycyrrhizic acid then presents risks of high blood pressure.
Notice to licorice lovers! A recent study carried out by researchers in Sweden revealed that licorice, due to the glycyrrhizic acid it contains, can cause an increase in blood pressure. This glycyrrhizic acid is a component of licorice root.
According to ANSES: “Licorice is one of the most commercially valuable plants in the world, with a wide range of uses, particularly in the tobacco, cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries.”
The effects of glycyrrhizic acid on blood pressure
The researchers’ objective was to analyze the effects on home blood pressure of daily intake of licorice containing 100 mg of glycyrrhizic acid. To do this, they measured the blood pressure of 28 healthy patients daily, whose average age was 24 years, and took blood samples at the end of each two-week period. The study results revealed that licorice was more potent than previously known, with significant increases in blood pressure after taking just 100 mg of glycyrrhizic acid daily.
Implications for health
Taking glycyrrhizic acid licorice has also been associated with marked suppression of renin and aldosterone, hormones important for regulating blood pressure. In addition, this study demonstrated that taking licorice increased systolic blood pressure from the 5th day and this increase continued until the 14th day.
Licorice is consumed daily
“In the food industry, licorice is consumed as confectionery due to a very mild taste. Dried licorice root can be chewed as a treat. Glycyrrhizin is used as a sweetener (sweetening power 50 to 100 times greater than that of sucrose), softener and flavor enhancer. It is used in many sweet products (confectionery, chewing gum, snacks, bakery products, ice creams and sorbets) to enhance their sweetness, in salty products to reduce this characteristic, in cocoa-based products (as a flavor enhancer). taste allowing the quantity of cocoa used to be reduced), in certain soft drinks and syrups, in certain alcoholic drinks based on liquorice extracts (pastis, ouzo, raki, sambuca, etc.) and in non-alcoholic pastis. In beer, licorice is used as a foaming agent (surfactant properties), to reduce bitterness, or to flavor and color porter-type beers.”, details an ANSES report concerning licorice.
