Licorice root sugars get digested by gut bacteria into immune boosters
Tu H, Ding L, Zheng J, Yang Y, Chen X
Medicinal Plants
The licorice plant many gardeners grow for its sweet roots and pollinator-friendly purple flowers is turning out to have a second life inside your gut, where its sugars feed the bacteria that keep your immune system in check.
Licorice plants make a special kind of sugar molecule called a polysaccharide, and scientists have found that how the plant is grown, harvested, and processed changes what that sugar looks like at a molecular level. When you eat it, your gut doesn't fully break it down; instead, gut bacteria chop it into smaller pieces that help strengthen your intestinal lining and calm down immune overreactions. The catch is that different studies have been testing wildly different versions of this sugar, so scientists still need to agree on exactly which form does what.
Key Findings
GPS composition and properties vary significantly by Glycyrrhiza species, geographic origin, plant part, and processing method
After oral intake, GPS is largely retained and utilized within the intestine rather than absorbed elsewhere
Low-molecular-weight neutral GPS fractions can reshape gut microbiota, boost short-chain fatty acid production, strengthen the intestinal barrier, and reduce immune dysregulation
chevron_right Technical Summary
Licorice root contains complex sugar compounds that, once broken down into smaller pieces in the gut, feed beneficial bacteria and help calm an overactive immune system, according to a review of current research.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Structural heterogeneity, processing transformation, and gut microbiota-related immunomodulation of Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide: A review.
Glycyrrhiza polysaccharides (GPS) are bioactive macromolecules isolated from plants of the genus Glycyrrhiza. However, the term GPS is used across the literature to describe chemically and structur...
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Liquorice or licorice is the common name of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring is extracted.