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Benefits |
Preparation |
Medicinal Uses |
Side Effects |
Plant |
Folklore |
dried licorice root
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| Common Names |
| Licorice , Liquorice, Gan-cao |
| Botanical Name |
| Glycyrrhiza glabra |
| Family |
| FABACEAE or LEGUMINOSAE Pea Family |
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Many herbalists regard licorice as a natural alternative to hydrocortisone and it is used in many formulations to activate and increase the effects of other herbs. It acts much like your body's own natural corticosteroids. Licorice decreases generation of damaging molecules called free radicals at the site of inflammation and it inhibits an enzyme that's involved in the inflammatory process. The herb's action as a fast-acting anti-inflammatory agent is due to the compound glycyrrhizin, a compound that is chemically similar to the corticosteroids released by the body's adrenal glands. Glycyrrhizin blocks prostaglandin production and inflammation. Although it supports the body's release of cortisol, it also inhibits some of the more detrimental side effects of that hormone's presence. Licorice is also a excellent demulcent, and expectorant commonly used for throat, stomach, urinary, and intestinal irritations.
Licorice is of special importance to women and has been used in women's formulas for centuries. It has estrogenic and other steroidal properties and is used to normalize and regulate hormone production. Glycyrrhizin, a major component of licorice root, is structurally similar to adrenal cortical hormones. It has proven especially helpful in treating adrenal exhaustion, infertility due to hormonal imbalance, menopausal dysfunctions, and Addisons disease. |
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Prep Methods :Fresh or dried root chopped root tea, tincture
 Remedies using Licorice
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In traditional Chinese medicine Gan-cao (licorice) is used in prescriptions for weak spleen and stomach energy, for coughs, sore throats, asthma, carbuncles, swelling with pain, sores with toxic matter, stomach ulcers, hepatitis, hysteria, and as a detoxicant for food or medicine poisoning, as well as to "mediate" or "harmonize" the poisonous character of toxic medicinal plants. Steven Foster and Yue chongxi . Herbal Emissaries |
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| Animal Care - Liver tonic | | The most outstanding attributes of licorice root is it's action as an anti-inflammatory agent. In Chinese medicine, licorice root is commonly used as a liver detoxifier and in several studies it has been shown to benefit animals suffering from liver damage. 1328
(Gregory L. Tilford ) | | Stop smoking/adrenal tonic | | Licorice is helpful in quitting smoking in 2 ways, as an adrenal tonic it helps restore energy while it soothes the lungs
969
(Linda B.White ) | | Chronic anxiety, adrenal tonic | | Among its many medicinal benefits, licorice is considered an adrenal tonic, in particular, it increases production of the very chemicals that aid in the body's recovery from chronic anxiety. 599
(White,Linda B., M.D. ) | | Bronchitis | | This root is a one-stop herb shop for bronchitis. It soothes mucous membranes and is expectorant, anti-inflammatory, and directly antiviral. It also stimulates cells to produce interferon, the body's own antiviral compound. 1132
(White,Linda B., M.D. ) | | Intestinal ulcers | | Studies have shown that licorice accelerates the healing of intestinal ulcers. It is anti-inflammatory and very soothing to mucous membranes. To use licorice for heartburn or reflux, choose a special kind calls DGL (deglycyrrhizinated) licorice. 651
(White,Linda B., M.D. ) | | Psoriasis | | Topically, it's a very good treatment for tendinitis, bursitis, gum inflammation, and such autoimmune inflammatory reactions such as psoriasis. 662
(Duke, James A, Ph.D. ) | | Hormone production | | It has estrogenic and other steroidal properties and is used to normalize and regulate hormone production. 739
(Gladstar, Rosemary ) |
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| Side Effects: |
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| Not for long term use without medical advice, the key to using licorice is moderation. Licorice root can elevate blood pressure, lower potassium and cause water retention. Not for those who have hypertention, kidney problems, diabetes or heart problems. |
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Koehler's Medicinal-Plants 1887
 The plants are graceful, with light, spreading, pinnate foliage, presenting an almost feathery appearance from a distance. The leaflets (like those of the False Acacia) hang down during the night on each side of the midrib, though they do not meet beneath it. From the axils of the leaves spring racemes or spikes of papilionaceous small pale-blue, violet, yellowish-white or purplish flowers, followed by small pods somewhat resembling a partly-grown peapod in form. In the type species glabra, the pods are smooth, hence the specific name; in others they are hairy or spiny. The underground system, as in so many Leguminosae, is double, the one part consisting of a vertical or tap root, often with several branches penetrating to a depth of 3 or 4 feet, the other of horizontal rhizomes, or stolons, thrown off from the root below the surface of the ground, which attain a length of many feet. (Grieve, Maude)
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 Licorice is not really a flavor, rather the herb licorice has the sweet, somewhat musty flavor of anise. Licorice root is derived from the Mediterranean native species Glycyyhiza glabra, the pea family. It was know to the old Greek writers, and mentioned by Theophrastus to be used for asthma, dry cough, and all diseases of the lungs. The plant was being cultivated in Europe and England by the end of the sixteenth century, is naturalized in North America. China has at least six species and Chinese herbals from every dynasty in Chinese history give the plant prominent recognition. As in the past, licorice is still one of the most commonly used traditional medicine herbs. |
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 It is under the dominion of Mercury. Liquorice boiled in fair water, with some Maiden-hair and figs, makes a good drink for those that have a dry cough or hoarseness, wheezing or shortness of breath, and for all the griefs of the breast and lungs Nicholas Culpeper |
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Annies Remedys
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