Herb
Horehound
A bitter old-fashioned cough herb, taken as tea or a lozenge, traditionally used to loosen mucus and calm a stubborn cough.
⤢📊 How it ranks (our editor score) — 78/100Tap to see the breakdown
🌱 What it is
Horehound is a bitter, gray-green herb long used in cough teas and lozenges. It has a distinctive sharp taste that softens nicely with a bit of honey.
📜 Where it comes from
Horehound was used by Greco-Roman physicians for chest and lung complaints and became a fixture of medieval and later European folk medicine for coughs. It crossed into American folk tradition as an old-fashioned cough drop flavor, often boiled into candy or lozenges alongside honey. That bitter, chest-soothing reputation has kept horehound in herbal cough remedies for generations.
✨ Why it's good for you
- Traditionally used to help loosen mucus
- May help support a calmer, easier cough
- Often used to soothe a scratchy throat
- Traditionally taken as a comforting warm tea
🥗 Nutrition
Per 1 cup brewed tea (240ml) · about 2 calories
- Marrubiin (bitter principle)
- Volatile oils
- Negligible macronutrients
Source: Nutrition estimate (per typical serving)
🥄 How to use it
Steep 1 teaspoon of dried horehound in hot water for 10 minutes and sip, sweetened with honey to soften the bitterness; old-fashioned horehound candies use the same herbA plant, or part of one, used for flavor, food, or gentle health support. More →.
How much: As teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, 1 teaspoon dried herbA plant, or part of one, used for flavor, food, or gentle health support. More → per cup, sweetened, a few times daily for a short stretch.
Why it works: Herbalists attribute horehound's traditional cough relief to bitter compounds thought to loosen and help clear mucus from the chest, easing the urge to cough.
Show full details & how to prepare it
Horehound is a grey-green, bitter herbA plant, or part of one, used for flavor, food, or gentle health support. More → that has been a cough-and-chest remedy for so long that 'horehound candy' is still sold today. Its bitterness is part of how it works... encouraging the airways to loosen and clear thick mucus.
The teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → is genuinely bitter, so a spoon of honey helps it down. Because large amounts can unsettle the stomach and, in excess, nudge the heart's rhythm, it's best kept to modest tea amounts and short courses... and any lingering cough deserves a doctor's look.
Ways to prepare it
⚠️ Cautions
- Very bitter; large amounts can upset the stomach or, in excess, affect heart rhythm... keep to modest tea amounts.
- Avoid in pregnancy and with diabetes or heart-rhythm conditions without a doctor's okay.
- A cough lasting more than three weeks, or one with breathlessness or blood, is usually a sign that more than a home remedy is needed.
📚 Learn more
🌿 Deeper natural detail
🩺 The conventional view
💬 Ask Remy about Horehound
📚 Resource confidence
Based on mentions in health references
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