Yashtimadhu

What is Yashtimadhu?

Yashtimadhu is the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, the plant the West knows as licorice. It is a tall, leafy member of the pea family, and it is the root, not the leaf or flower, that Ayurveda values. Cut open, the root is yellow inside and strikingly sweet, far sweeter than sugar to the tongue.

The name says it plainly. Yashti means a stick or staff, and madhu means sweet, so Yashtimadhu is simply the sweet stick. That sweetness is not incidental. In Ayurveda the sweet taste is the building, soothing one, and it is the key to almost everything the tradition does with this root.

It is also one of the most-used herbs in all of classical Ayurveda. The texts fold it into a remarkable number of formulations, and Charaka places it in several of his great herb groups at once, a sign of how broadly the tradition trusts it.

What Ayurveda uses it for

Above all else, Yashtimadhu is the throat herb. The texts call it kanthya, which means soothing to the throat and the voice, and it is the root the tradition reaches for to keep the voice clear and the throat comfortable. This is its plainest and most famous use.

Beyond that, its sweet and cooling nature makes it a settling herb. The classical writers count it among the jeevaniya group, the life-giving herbs that nourish and sustain, and they use it where the body runs hot or dry and needs softening. It also has a long reputation as a varnya herb, one that supports a clear complexion, which is why it appears in the old beauty pastes and Ubtans.

So the picture is of a gentle, broad-shouldered root: soothing to the throat, cooling to heat, nourishing to a dry body, and trusted enough to appear in formulation after formulation.

Its qualities, in plain words

Ayurveda describes every herb by a short list of qualities, and for Yashtimadhu they are unusually clear-cut.

It is sweet, both on the tongue and in its final effect after digestion, and in Ayurveda a sweet finish means a herb that builds and nourishes rather than reduces. It is cooling, which is why it suits the hot, sharp quality the texts call Pitta. And it is heavy and a little oily, so it moistens and steadies rather than drying the body out. Put together: a root that cools, soothes and nourishes at once, settling both Vata and Pitta. Because it is sweet and heavy, the texts note it can add to Kapha, the cool heavy quality, if taken in excess.

How it is taken

The simplest form is the plain root powder, the Churnam, taken in small measure. The tradition also processes the root in ghee and uses it in any number of named compounds, and it is a familiar ingredient in the classical throat lozenges of the Eladi type.

Because the root is so strongly sweet, a little goes a long way, and the texts treat it as a herb of measure rather than large doses. The classical writers note that it is best used under guidance when taken steadily over a long stretch.

Good to know

Yashtimadhu is one of the gentle, building herbs of Ayurveda, used to soothe and nourish rather than to clear or reduce. Its sweetness is its signature and its caution both: nourishing in small measure, but heavy if overdone, and not the herb for a body already weighed down by Kapha.

This entry describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of the herb. It is not medical advice, and anyone with a health condition should speak to a qualified practitioner.

Frequently asked

Why is Yashtimadhu called the sweet stick? Because that is what the name means. Yashti is a stick or staff and madhu is sweet, and the root really is intensely sweet to the taste. That sweetness is the heart of how Ayurveda uses it.

Is it the same as the licorice in sweets? It comes from the same plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra. Ayurveda uses the dried root itself rather than the boiled-down confectionery, and treats it as a herb of measure, taken in small amounts.

What is it best known for? Soothing the throat and the voice. The texts call it kanthya, the throat herb, and that is its most famous and most constant use.

Which part of the plant is used? The root, including its underground runners. The leaves and flowers are not part of its classical preparations.