Immune support ingredient
Liquorice Root for Dogs: The Natural Firefighter for Inflammation
Imagine the body as a city with small fires breaking out in different buildings. One fire in the gut, another in the skin, another around the joints. Most anti-inflammatory ingredients work in one specific area. Liquorice root is different: it's a general firefighter that responds to fires anywhere in the body.
A Firefighter for Your Dog's Body
This root has been used as medicine for over four thousand years across Chinese, Indian, and Greek traditions. It's not the same as liquorice sweets; it's the actual dried root of the plant, packed with anti-inflammatory and gut-soothing compounds.
Liquorice root is especially valuable for dogs with multiple overlapping issues. A dog with a sensitive tummy, itchy skin, and anxiety during thunderstorms is the classic VitaDog customer, and liquorice root touches all three issues simultaneously.
The Science Behind It
Gut Lining Protection
Liquorice root helps the body produce more protective mucus that coats the gut lining. Think of it as adding soft wallpaper over a scraped wall, giving the tissue a chance to heal underneath. It works alongside pumpkin and inulin for comprehensive gut protection.
Nature's Steroid
Liquorice root contains glycyrrhizin, which mimics the body's natural anti-inflammatory hormones (corticosteroids). It gently boosts the body's own anti-inflammatory response, particularly valuable for skin flare-ups, allergies, and hot spots. It works alongside quercetin: quercetin stops histamines being released, liquorice calms inflammation that slips through.
Adrenal and Stress Support
Liquorice root supports the adrenal glands, which produce stress hormones including cortisol. In stressed dogs, the adrenals work overtime. Liquorice root helps maintain balanced cortisol levels, supporting calmer stress responses and faster recovery.
Why It's in VitaDog
Liquorice root is one of the few single ingredients that supports gut health, skin health, and stress resilience simultaneously, making it a perfect fit for an all-in-one formula. The dose is kept moderate because liquorice root is one ingredient where more isn't better: careful dosing ensures long-term safety.
What to Look For in a Supplement
Look for supplements that combine liquorice root with other anti-inflammatory and gut-soothing ingredients for the strongest effect. A multi-pathway approach is always more effective than relying on one ingredient.
Research and Evidence
The inclusion of this ingredient in VitaDog is supported by peer-reviewed research, including the following studies:
- Isbrucker RA, Burdock GA. Risk and safety assessment on the consumption of licorice root (Glycyrrhiza sp.), its extract and powder as a food ingredient, with emphasis on the pharmacology and toxicology of glycyrrhizin. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2006;46(3):167-92.
- Tang Z, Yin Y, Zhang Y, Huang R, Sun Z, Li T, et al. Effects of dietary supplementation with glycyrrhizin on growth performance, intestinal morphology and function in weaned piglets. J Anim Sci Biotechnol. 2015;6:15.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is liquorice root safe for dogs?
- At supplement doses, yes. The dose in VitaDog is well within safe daily ranges. Dogs with high blood pressure, heart conditions, or those on diuretic medications should check with their vet first, as liquorice can affect sodium and potassium balance at higher doses.
- Is this the same as liquorice sweets?
- No. Liquorice sweets are made with flavouring and sugar. This is the actual dried root of the liquorice plant, used medicinally for thousands of years.
