Gentle digestive support
Deglycyrrhizinated licorice, or DGL, is a refined extract of licorice root with glycyrrhizin removed. This means it’s easier on your blood pressure but still offers digestive comfort. DGL is popular in supplements designed to support the stomach lining and help ease occasional digestive complaints.
About DGL
What is DGL?
Deglycyrrhizinated licorice, known widely as DGL, is a specialized extract crafted from the licorice root. By pulling out glycyrrhizin – the part linked to raised blood pressure and other unwanted effects – DGL delivers the beneficial compounds without typical drawbacks. You get a mix of bioactive plant compounds and flavonoids with a long history in gut health traditions.
Potential Benefits
People often reach for DGL when dealing with occasional indigestion, heartburn after meals, or general stomach upset. Its reputation comes from the way it supports your body’s natural defenses in the stomach and upper digestive tract. Instead of blocking acid or forcing drastic changes, it offers a gentle nudge to the mucosal lining – helping you maintain comfort after big meals or during stressful periods.
Common Uses
You’ll find DGL most often as chewable tablets, since these seem to coat the lining more directly. Capsules, powders, and even lozenges show up in blends targeting both gut and throat comfort – think singers or public speakers needing gentle relief from overuse.
Synergies with Other Ingredients
Some advanced formulas pair DGL with other gut-supportive ingredients like slippery elm, mastic gum, or zinc carnosine. Blending these together is common in the biohacking world for people who want targeted support without overdoing it on any one ingredient.
Regular Use and Safety
Regular use is possible thanks to its low glycyrrhizin content – meaning you can rely on DGL daily without worrying about blood pressure spikes or fluid balance issues typical of full-strength licorice extracts.
Related Products
Formulated With
Learn about other ingredients that DGL is used alongside throughout the LVLUP range.
Detailed Information
Scientific Composition
Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) represents a selective extract from Glycyrrhiza glabra L., engineered specifically by eliminating glycyrrhizin through chemical extraction processes such as ammonium sulfate precipitation or ion-exchange chromatography. Glycyrrhizin removal reduces mineralocorticoid effects via inhibition of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2), thereby attenuating risks associated with pseudoaldosteronism including sodium retention and hypertension.
Active Compounds
DGL retains polyphenolic flavonoids (notably liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin), chalcones, glabridin, coumarins, saponins (absent glycyrrhizin), and various polysaccharides implicated in mucosal adhesion and modulation of local prostaglandins E2/F2α synthesis in the gastric epithelium. Mechanistically, ingested DGL appears to stimulate increased mucus production by surface epithelial cells via enhancement of prostaglandin-dependent cyclic AMP pathways while also exhibiting minor anti-Helicobacter pylori activity through direct inhibition and interference with bacterial adherence to gastric mucosa.
Clinical Applications
In clinical applications, randomized controlled trials have examined chewable forms administered preprandially at dosages ranging from 380-760 mg standardized extract per administration. Efficacy endpoints generally focus on symptomatic reduction of epigastric discomfort and healing kinetics of non-erosive gastritis or functional dyspepsia; findings suggest at least non-inferiority versus placebo in select populations with favorable safety profiles due to lack of glycyrrhetinic acid exposure.
Formulations and Synergies
As an excipient or co-active agent within multi-ingredient formulations (such as complexes containing zinc L-carnosine or mastic gum), DGL may potentiate cytoprotective effects against NSAID-induced gastropathy or optimize barrier function via synergistic mucotropic mechanisms. Emerging data points to relevance within broader gastrointestinal protocols addressing mucosal integrity under inflammatory load but also highlights practical limitations related to palatability, pharmaceutical stability (especially in chewable formats), and inter-individual variability in response tied to bioavailability factors.
