Liquorice

LIQUORICE, liquorice plant, sweet smooth, Glycyrrhiza, or Liquiritia glabra, a plant of the legume family (Papilionaceae); two varieties have medical significance: var. glandulifera Regel et Herder—Russian liquorice and var. typica—Spanish liquorice. Tall herbaceous perennial plants, 1-2 meters in height; stems are erect, slightly winding, cylindrical at the base, ribbed toward the top, covered with small glandular hairs; leaves are alternate, imparipinnate; flowers are small, bisexual, on short pedicels emerging from the axils of small lanceolate bracts; blooms from June to August; fruits are straight or slightly curved, smooth; the underground part is well developed: the taproot goes deep into the ground, gives off lateral roots and numerous root shoots. The Russian liquorice plant differs from the Spanish by the presence of sticky glandular hairs on the lower side of the leaves and calyces; it grows in large quantities wild throughout the southern USSR, especially in the Volga region, the Caucasus, Siberia, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. The Spanish liquorice plant is cultivated in large quantities in Spain, Italy, southern France, Germany, England, etc. Asian liquorice, or Ural liquorice, Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fischer, differs in appearance from common liquorice, reaching 40-80 cm in height; the entire plant is grayish-pubescent, leaflets are larger, ovate or elliptical, flowers are also larger; blooms in summer; fruits are strongly curved, transversely sinuous, covered with glandular prickles; found in steppes, mainly on solonchaks in the Urals, Siberia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. The roots and rhizomes of all three named plants are used medicinally. On the market there are two grades of the product: 1) Radix Liquiritiae rossicae (Ph. VII), or mundata; cleaned of bark, light yellow roots of common liquorice and Ural liquorice; the surface and fracture of the pieces are fibrous, taste sweet-cloying, somewhat irritating, and 2) Radix Liquiritiae hispanicae, or tecta; pieces of various sizes of thin, bark-covered lateral, cylindrical rhizome shoots of Spanish liquorice; the bark is reddish-brown, smooth, somewhat bumpy, with transverse cracks. - The constituent principles of the roots and rhizomes: glycyrrhizin (glycyrrhizic acid) C₄₂H₆₄O₁₉ (6-8%), which breaks down when boiled with dilute sulfuric acid into glucuronic acid (2 molecules) and glycyrrhetic acid C₃₀H₄₇O₄(OH)₂.COOH, which does not have a sweet taste; asparagine (2-4%); sugar, mainly sucrose and glucose; proteins (about 3-3.5%), starch, gum [resin (about 1.6%)], coloring matter; ash not more than 7%. - The action of the root and preparations made from it is due to the presence of glycyrrhizin and sugar, which cause laxation; moreover, preparations have been popular since ancient times as expectorants in inflammatory processes of the respiratory tract due to their mucilage content. Preparations. 1) Pulvis radicis Liquiritiae, Pulvis radicis Glycyrrhizae, powder of light yellow liquorice root; used as a corrigens and constituens for powders and pills, it is also included in the composition of a) Pulvis Glycyrrhizae compositus, Pulvis Liquiritiae compositus, compound powder of liquorice root (Ph. VII). Liquorice root in powder 20 parts, senna leaves in powder 20 parts, dill seed in powder 10 parts, sublimated sulfur 10 parts, sugar 40 parts; due to the presence of senna leaves, liquorice root, and sulfur, the action is laxative; prescribed for stubborn constipation at 1-2 teaspoons for adults, 1/2 teaspoon for children in cachets or in water. b) Pulvis Hufelandi pro infantibus, Hufeland's children's powder (Ph. VII). c) Pulvis gummosus, gum powder (Ph. VII); used as a constituens for powders. 2) Species pectoralis, chest mixture (Ph. VII); contains among other plant substances 15% of cut liquorice root; taken internally in the form of an infusion from 1 tablespoon of the mixture in 2-3 cups of water; a favorite home remedy for inflammatory processes of the respiratory tract. 3) Succus Liquiritiae, or Glycyrrhizae crudus, ordinary extract of liquorice root (common liquorice); cylindrical sticks or irregularly shaped pieces of black color, hard, brittle; used for preparing purified liquorice. 4) Succus Liquiritiae, or Glycyrrhizae depuratus, Extractum Glycyrrhizae, or Liquiritiae depuratum, purified juice or extract of liquorice root, purified liquorice, a brown powder of a specific odor, sweet taste, soluble in water; obtained from common liquorice by repeated extraction with cold water. The resulting solutions after standing are filtered through cloth, and then evaporated in a water bath to the consistency of a pill mass; the latter is dried, ground into powder, and sifted. Taken internally per se; used as a constituens for pills, included in many "cough remedies". 5) Extractum Glycyrrhizae, or Liquiritiae, extract of liquorice (sweet) root (Ph. VII), a thick extract of dark brown color, sweet taste; soluble in water; used as a constituens for pills; included in "cough remedies". 6) Extractum Liquiritiae pulvis plane solubile (Ph. VII); the thick extract is poured onto porcelain plates, dried, ground into powder, and sifted. 7) Elixir cum Extracto Glycyrrhizae, Elixir pectoralis, liquorice elixir, Danish king's drops (Ph. VII); consists of liquorice root extract, ammonia solution, anise oil, and 90° alcohol; taken as an expectorant at 20-30 drops several times a day. 8) Pasta Glycyrrhizae, Pasta Liquiritiae, liquorice paste, women's skin; a decoction of liquorice root mixed with sugar and gum arabic is evaporated in a water bath, then dried until the mass begins to bend easily; taken internally per for cough. 9) Sirupus Glycyrrhizae, or Liquiritiae, syrup of liquorice root (Ph. VII); prepared from a decoction of liquorice root with the addition of ammonia solution, alcohol, and syrup; prescribed as a flavor corrector for mixtures in the amount of 15-20.0 per 200.0 of mixture. Besides medical use, liquorice has great technical significance; for example, a decoction of the root is used as a foaming agent in fire extinguishers; it is also widely used (especially in America) as an additive to chewing tobacco, in England—in the preparation of porter and ale; finally, it is used in the preparation of pickled apples and other fruits. At present, liquorice has again become an important export item, reaching about 7,000 tons worth approximately 1.5 million rubles.