Herb library · Herb · Cichorium intybus
Chicory
A blue-flowered roadside plant whose bitter root is roasted as a coffee substitute and whose leaves are eaten as a bitter salad. Europe accepts the root for traditional use in mild digestive complaints; a few small trials in people exist.
Traditional use
King's American Dispensatory (1898) records chicory root decoction as a tonic, diuretic and mild laxative, used for jaundice, a sluggish liver and skin eruptions, and the root roasted and ground to stretch or replace coffee. In Europe chicory root is registered as a traditional herbal medicine for mild digestive complaints such as fullness, gas and slow digestion, and for temporary loss of appetite. Tristram (1898) records that the rabbis counted chicory among the bitter herbs eaten with the Passover lamb.
What studies show
- Limited
Skin during breast radiotherapy: in a 2024 randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 41 women, those who applied a chicory root gel developed radiation dermatitis later and less often than those given a placebo gel. It is one small trial.
- Limited
Blood sugar and insulin: in a 2025 randomized, placebo-controlled trial in people at risk of type 2 diabetes, 12 weeks of a fiber product made from whole chicory-root cells raised whole-body insulin sensitivity and lowered triglycerides a little; other measures moved only slightly.
- Insufficient
Digestion and appetite: the European monograph accepts these uses on long tradition, not on trials.
Be careful of
Cautions
- AllergyDo not use it if you are allergic to plants of the daisy family (Asteraceae), such as ragweed, chamomile or dandelion.
- PregnancyThe European monograph does not recommend medicinal chicory root in pregnancy or breastfeeding, for lack of safety data. Eating the leaves as food is a different matter.
- ConditionNot established for children under 12. See a clinician if digestive symptoms last more than two weeks or get worse.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Tonic, diuretic, and laxative. The decoction, used freely, is said to have proved efficient in jaundice, engorgement of the liver, and other chronic visceral diseases, as well as in cutaneous eruptions, gout, hectic fever, etc.”
In scripture
Where the Bible names this plant, and which plant scholars think is meant.
They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, with unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.
In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
The Hebrew does not name one plant. Tristram (1898) records that, according to the rabbis, five sorts of bitter herbs were eaten with the Passover lamb, among them lettuce, endive and chicory, the plant on this page; chicory is one of the bitter herbs, not the only one. H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), p. 432 (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- Final community herbal monograph on Cichorium intybus L., radix (EMA/HMPC) (opens in a new tab) · EMA · read September 25, 2026
- Topical use of chicory root extract gel on the incidence and severity of radiodermatitis in breast cancer patients: a randomized controled trial (Support Care Cancer, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Intrinsic chicory root fibers modulate colonic microbial butyrate-producing pathways and improve insulin sensitivity in individuals with obesity (Cell Rep Med, 2025) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Cichorii intybi radix — European Union herbal monograph (traditional use) (opens in a new tab) · EMA · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.