MARSHMALLOW Root (Althea officinalis) *Organic herb for horses - mucilage magic, gut-soothing, comfort restoring

Here’s where you’ll also find Marshmallow Root in our supplement support for horses:

• CalmTonic - tension-easing, nerve-settling, focus-restoring
• GutAminos - deep-level nutrition to nourish the gut’s natural barrier
• KolicTonic - gut-calming, spasm-settling, gas-soothing
• UlsaTonic / UlsaCOMBO - stomach-soothing, acid-calming, mucosa-nourishing support

💧Organic Marshmallow Root Tincture

Our human-grade, certified organic tinctures give you a ready-to-absorb potent source of phytonutrients at the highest-strength available, for immediate absorption straight into the bloodstream and to the body’s cells.

• Althea officinalis Radix
• Cold Macerated 1:3 35%
• Organic Cultivated

~ Feed Guide - 6ml/100kg bodyweight, daily in feed.

🌿Organic Marshmallow Root (Ground)

Grown, harvested and dried without the use of agri-chemicals, non-irradiated and GMO free - see our Quality page for Quality Management & Certification Documents.

• Althea officinalis Radix, Ground
• Wild Harvested
• Origin Albania

~ Feed Guide - 5 g/100kg bodyweight per day, i.e. 25g for a 500kg horse.

Functional Nutritional Value

Constituents: Mucilage, starch, pectin, flavonoids, phenolic acids, sucrose, asparagine, tannins.

• Laboratory tested for identification and compliance to the British and European Pharmacopoeia standards.
• Human grade.
• Please be aware that if you're purchasing our dried botanicals for human use, our dried range is cut to appropriate sizes for feeding to horses.
• ♻️ Eco Note: Our packaging is recyclable and refillable.
• 🧊 Storage Tip: Keep cool and dry.

Marshmallow Root is a really gentle, soothing herb that most horses tolerate beautifully. It's best fed a few hours apart from oral pharma medications, as its natural mucilage may briefly slow absorption.

Advisories

• Marshmallow Root is considered extremely safe for equine use and is well tolerated even by sensitive horses.
• Its high natural mucilage content forms a soothing, protective coating over the gut lining - ideal for gastric comfort, hindgut sensitivity, or feed-related irritation.
• Because mucilage can temporarily slow gastric emptying, separate from oral pharma medications by 2–3 hours to ensure full drug absorption.

Contraindications

• Not suitable for pregnant or nursing mares without veterinary approval (standard caution for all botanicals).
• Avoid feeding at the exact same time as prescription oral medications due to mucilage’s temporary binding/soothing effect.
• Use caution in horses with suspected gastric obstruction or severely impaired motility (rare but listed for completeness).

Marshmallow root is one of those herbs that feels like a hug. Soft, silky, soothing… and yes, it’s the original inspiration behind the marshmallow sweet (back when marshmallows were made of actual plants rather than industrialised sugar clouds).

Everything about this plant whispers comfort. The velvety leaves, the delicate pink flowers, and those gloriously gooey roots - so rich in mucilage - all work together to calm, cool, and coat irritated tissues. If herbs had personalities, marshmallow would be the gentle friend who makes you sit down with a fluffy blanket and makes you a hot chocolate.

Humans have loved it for millennia. Egyptian healers used it, Greek physicians praised it, Roman herbalists relied on it, and Middle Eastern traditions embraced it fully. Even Pliny couldn’t resist a bit of poetic exaggeration, boldly claiming that anyone who eats marshmallow daily “ shall be free from all diseases. ” (We love his enthusiasm, if not his accuracy.)

Later, Culpeper wrote about its ability to soothe “ hot and sharp diseases ,” and Dr Ellingwood - a man who knew his plant chemistry - described its calming effect on irritated intestines and bladder tissue. If there was discomfort, dryness, scratchiness, or inflammation involved, marshmallow was usually close at hand.

Why herbalists love it

The magic word here is mucilage- a gel-like, plant-made, cooling substance that’s released when the root meets water. Imagine a natural, herbal aloe vera for your insides - that’s marshmallow.

Its soothing gifts include:

• A demulcent effect- coating and calming sore throats, dry coughs, and irritated lungs.
• Gut comfort- easing acid, dryness, spasm, and general GI irritation.
• Cooling + moistening action- perfect for inflamed, hot, or aggravated tissues anywhere along the mucous membranes.
• Gentle urinary support- offering ease when the bladder or kidneys feel irritated.

And here’s a neat little detail:
The root is where you’ll find the highest mucilage content - excellent for digestion and GI soothe-and-coat support.
The leaf, meanwhile, is the go-to when the lungs, throat, or airways need a little softening.

Herbalists love marshmallow because it doesn’t force anything, doesn’t stimulate, doesn’t push - it simply protects and nurtures, letting the body calm itself down.

From food to medicine (and back again)

For many centuries, marshmallow wasn’t just a herb - it was a staple food. Its roots and leaves are naturally high in calcium and contain generous trace minerals like magnesium, selenium, and iron. Some cultures still cook with it today.

And yes, the original marshmallow confection really was a soothing syrup of marshmallow root whipped with honey. A far cry from the modern version, which contains precisely… none.

Marshmallow root is, at its heart, the herbal equivalent of comfort food - gentle, nurturing, and unwaveringly kind. A soft landing for any irritated tissue, inside or out. If Echinacea is the hedgehog, Andrographis the stern elder, and Ashwagandha the steady companion, then Marshmallow is the warm blanket that makes everything feel just that little bit better.