Botanical

Althaea Officinalis

Althaea officinalis

Evidence TierCWADA NOT PROHIBITED

tuneTypical Dose

Label-dose extract or syrup-equivalent

watchEffect Window

1-7 days

check_circleCompliance

WADA NOT PROHIBITED

Overview

Clinical Summary

Althaea officinalis (marshmallow root) is a demulcent herb used for throat and GI irritation relief, with limited evidence for systemic performance benefits.

Human evidence is often limited to small, heterogeneous trials. Reported benefits commonly include modest changes in dyspepsia symptoms, glycemic markers, lipids, or perceived stress. Minority findings include antimicrobial activity, immune modulation, and effects on liver enzymes, but these are frequently preclinical. Outcomes depend on standardization, dose, and baseline health.

Demulcent mucilage-rich botanical effect on local mucosal comfort, with limited evidence in controlled clinical outcomes.

Outcomes

What This Is Expected To Influence

Primary Outcomes

  • Symptomatic throat and irritation comfort
  • No validated cognitive/performance outcome

Secondary Outcomes

  • Reduced mucosal discomfort
  • Mild cough-support signal

Safety

Contraindications and Interactions

Contraindications

  • Marshmallow/root allergy
  • Unstable diabetes with sweet formulations
  • Severe reactive airway disease

Side effects

  • Mild GI fullness
  • Allergic reactions (rare)
  • Product sugar intolerance

Interactions

  • Other demulcents
  • Diabetes medications (formulation-dependent)

Avoid if

  • Worsening breathlessness
  • Persistent fever
  • Severe allergy history

Evidence

Study-level References

althaea-officinalis-SRC-001Clinical observation and small randomized/symptom-focused studies.

Systematic and traditional-use summaries of marshmallow root for respiratory comfort.

Population: Adults with mild respiratory irritation.

Dose protocol: Extract or syrup-based symptomatic use.

Key findings: Consistent direction toward reduced irritation in many symptomatic reports.

Notes: Limited blinding and small effect-size precision.

Paper content

Consistent direction toward reduced irritation in many symptomatic reports.

althaea-officinalis-SRC-002Pharmacovigilance and safety compilation.

Adverse-event and safety notes around demulcent botanical use.

Population: Broad community and clinical supplement users.

Dose protocol: Variable formulations.

Key findings: Mostly mild safety profile with rare allergy or GI effects.

Notes: Poorly controlled product-level quality reporting.

Paper content

Mostly mild safety profile; rare allergy or GI effects.

althaea-officinalis-SRC-003Randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial.
Sourceopen_in_new

Amini F, Namjooyan F, Zomorodian K, Zareshahrabadi Z, Shojaei K, Jaladat AM, Hashempur MH. The efficacy of complementary treatment with marshmallow (Althaea officinalis L.) on vulvovaginal candidiasis: A randomized double-blinded controlled clinical trial. Explore (NY). 2023;19(6):813-819. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2023.04.005. PMID:37121836.

Population: Women with vulvovaginal candidiasis.

Dose protocol: Marshmallow aqueous extract 4% combined with clotrimazole 1% vaginal cream versus clotrimazole 1% alone for 7 nights in 100 women with vulvovaginal candidiasis.

Key findings: Combination treatment significantly reduced itching and dyspareunia compared to clotrimazole alone, sustained through 7 and 30 day follow-ups. No adverse events.

Notes: Well-designed double-blind RCT. Demonstrates the mucosal soothing properties of marshmallow in a clinical setting beyond throat and respiratory applications.

Paper content

This double-blind RCT compared marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) aqueous extract 4% combined with clotrimazole 1% versus clotrimazole 1% alone in 100 women with vulvovaginal candidiasis. The combination treatment produced significantly greater reductions in itching and dyspareunia compared to clotrimazole alone, with benefits sustained through both the 7-day and 30-day follow-up assessments. No significant adverse events were reported in either group. This supports the traditional use of marshmallow as a mucosal soothing adjunct.

althaea-officinalis-SRC-004Randomized clinical trial.
Sourceopen_in_new

Khosravan S, Mohammadzadeh-Moghadam H, Mohammadzadeh F, Khames Fadafen SA, Gholami M. The Effect of Hollyhock (Althaea officinalis L) Leaf Compresses Combined With Warm and Cold Compress on Breast Engorgement in Lactating Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2017;22(1):25-30. doi:10.1177/2156587215617106. PMID:26603219.

Population: Lactating women with breast engorgement.

Dose protocol: Hollyhock (Althaea officinalis) leaf compress applied 6 times over 2 days as adjunct to warm and cold compresses for breast engorgement in 40 lactating women.

Key findings: Significant improvement in breast engorgement severity in the intervention group (p<0.001).

Notes: Small sample (n=40) and not blinded. Demonstrates topical demulcent properties in a practical clinical context outside respiratory tract.

Paper content

This RCT tested hollyhock (Althaea officinalis) leaf compresses as an adjunct to warm and cold compresses for breast engorgement in 40 lactating women. The intervention group received 6 hollyhock compress applications over 2 days alongside standard temperature compresses. Engorgement severity improved significantly (p<0.001) in the intervention group compared to standard compresses alone. This supports the traditional use of marshmallow root for mucosal and tissue soothing, extending the evidence to topical applications on engorged breast tissue.

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