DGL Licorice: Forms, Glycyrrhizin, and Label Guide

DGL stands for deglycyrrhizinated licorice. It is made from licorice material that has been processed to remove most of its glycyrrhizic acid, also called glycyrrhizin. That distinction matters because glycyrrhizin is responsible for the best-established systemic safety concerns associated with ordinary licorice, including effects on blood pressure, potassium, fluid balance, and heart rhythm. ²

Deglycyrrhizinated does not necessarily mean that every trace is absent. Health Canada’s 2025 DGL monograph requires the finished product to contain no more than 3% of the original glycyrrhizic acid quantity in the source material. A label may instead use wording such as low glycyrrhizin or state a residual specification. ¹

If a Supplement Facts panel says only licorice root or licorice root extract, do not assume it is DGL. Ordinary licorice, DGL, and a named branded extract can have different preparation, evidence, directions, and safety context.

The word DGL identifies processing, not one universal finished product. Chewable DGL, capsules, granules, gummies, and branded extracts should be compared using their complete label wording rather than ranked by format alone.

DGL labels can show milligrams per tablet, per chewable, or per multi-unit serving. The front of the bottle may highlight a larger daily total or a root-equivalent number. Use the Supplement Facts amount tied to the listed serving before comparing products.

A practical DGL label check

1. Confirm that DGL or deglycyrrhizinated licorice is stated explicitly.
2. Read the amount per full serving, not only the front-label number.
3. Record whether the product is a chewable, capsule, granule, or named extract.
4. Look for residual, low, or no-glycyrrhizin wording without assuming that silence means zero.
5. Separate an individual DGL amount from the total weight of a digestive blend.

For the broader method, read How to Read Supplement Labels.

One digestive product may contain DGL while a tea, adrenal-support formula, botanical blend, or traditional herbal product contains ordinary licorice root. Those entries should remain separate because the glycyrrhizin and safety context can differ.

DGL is also commonly paired with Slippery Elm, Marshmallow Root, zinc carnosine, or L-Glutamine. Each ingredient needs its own disclosed amount and serving context. A long ingredient list does not reveal whether any one component is meaningfully dosed.

Health Canada’s 2025 oral DGL monograph lists 380 to 1,520 mg of prepared dry DGL extract as an adult single dose, three times daily, with directions to chew between meals or 20 minutes before meals. These values belong to that monograph and dosage-form framework. They are not a universal personal dose for every DGL product or market. ¹

By contrast, short trials of GutGard used 75 mg twice daily in capsules. That lower number does not prove that any 75 mg DGL capsule is equivalent. It shows why a named extract, its standardization, the studied product, and the directions matter alongside milligrams. ^{3, 4}

The strongest comparison is therefore not the largest milligram number. Record the exact preparation, the amount per listed serving, the dosage form, and the product directions before deciding whether two labels are meaningfully comparable.

Removing most glycyrrhizin is intended to reduce the main systemic risk associated with ordinary licorice. NCCIH says oral products that do not contain glycyrrhizin might be safe for up to four months. That cautious wording is not the same as proven safety for indefinite use, pregnancy, breastfeeding, every health condition, or every medicine combination. ²

Ordinary licorice can cause serious adverse effects through glycyrrhizin, particularly with larger or longer exposure and in people with hypertension, high salt intake, or heart or kidney conditions. Corticosteroid interactions have also been reported. If the label does not explicitly identify DGL, use the ordinary licorice safety context rather than assuming the lower-risk form. ²

Claims such as “safe licorice”, “blood-pressure friendly”, “heals ulcers ” or “replaces acid medication” go beyond what the ingredient name and current evidence establish. The useful label question is what preparation is actually disclosed, not which reassuring phrase appears on the front.