Licorice bush

Authors:Prof. Dr. med. Peter Altmeyer, Prof. Dr. med. Martina Bacharach-Buhles

All authors of this article

Last updated on: 16.07.2021

Dieser Artikel auf Deutsch

Synonym(s)

Glycyrrhiza glabra Linné; Licorice; Licorice bush; Licorice herb

Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please login to access all articles, images, and functions.

Our content is available exclusively to medical professionals. If you have already registered, please login. If you haven't, you can register for free (medical professionals only).


Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please complete your registration to access all articles and images.

To gain access, you must complete your registration. You either haven't confirmed your e-mail address or we still need proof that you are a member of the medical profession.

Finish your registration now

DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.

Glycyrrhiza glabra is a perennial belonging to the butterfly family that can grow up to 2 m high.

The yellow, woody to finger-thick roots sprout runners several metres long. The unpeeled, dried roots and their stolons(Liquiritiae radix - liquorice root) are used for various medicinal preparations to produce "liquorice juice" (Liquiritiae succus). This is incorporated into the worldwide popular liquorice confectionery. The pale violet flowers are in many-flowered racemes in the leaf axils. The brownish seeds develop in glabrous pods. Origin: Mediterranean area, western Asia; cultivated as a crop in European countries.

Extracts of licorice root contain: 2-15% glycyrrhetin(acid), and a number of flavonoids, phytosterols and coumarins. They are used medicinally as expectorants.

Authors

Last updated on: 16.07.2021