Licorice root, also known as Glycyrrrhiza glabra, is an excellent addition to cough and cold formulas during the flu season. Licorice’s immune-boosting and throat-soothing properties are very powerful indeed.
To take care of nagging coughs, make some mullein leaf tea and add a pinch of licorice root. The taste of the licorice alone is very soothing to a sore throat and fights coughs tooth and nail.
For safety, people who have high blood pressure should avoid this herb or use the deglyrrhizinated form of licore root. Just look for “DGL” on the label of the package. The glyrrhizin in the licorice, however, fights peptic ulcers and actually has been found to reverse the herpes simplex virus.