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Picture of
Licorice Plant
Licorice root, licorice flower, licorice leaves, licorice
plant
HRB026 Photodisc (Illustration) Royalty Free Photograph
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Bankoro, Noni, Immune System Builder |
Licorice, Licorice root.
Most licorice is grown in Greece, Turkey, and Asia. Licorice
contains a compound called glycyrrhizin (or glycyrrhizic acid).
Common Names--licorice root, licorice, liquorice, sweet
root, gan zao (Chinese licorice)
Latin Name--Glycyrrhiza glabra, Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Chinese licorice)
- Active Ingredients
- Between 6 and 14 percent of the root is the glycoside
glycyrrhizin. This calcium or potassium salt of glycyrrhizinic acid is fifty
times sweeter than table sugar.
- Licorice contains a number of other triterpenoid saponins,
along with plant sterols including sitosterol and stigmasterol.
- The root also contains several other sugars, including
glucose, mannose, and sucrose.
- More than thirty flavonoids and isoflavonoids have been
identified, including liquiritin and its derivatives.
- Some coumarins and an immunosuppressant called LX have
also been isolated.
- What Licorice Root Is Used For
- Licorice root has been used as a dietary supplement and
as an herbal remedy for stomach ulcers, bronchitis, and sore throat, as well
as infections caused by viruses, such as hepatitis.
- Licorice Root has been used for centuries to help curb the appetite, aid digestion, reduce inflammation, support the adrenal glands and proper liver function, and is said to help reduce body fat.
- Try our Herbal Remedy and Herbal Medicine:
- How Licorice Root Is Used
- Peeled licorice root is available in dried and powdered
forms.
- Licorice root is available as capsules, tablets, and
liquid extracts.
- Licorice can be found with glycyrrhizin removed; the
product is called DGL (for "deglycyrrhizinated licorice").
- What the Science Says about
Licorice Root
- A review of several clinical trials found that
glycyrrhizin might reduce complications from hepatitis C in some patients.
However, there is not enough evidence to confirm that glycyrrhizin has this
effect.
- There are not enough reliable data to determine whether
licorice is effective for stomach ulcers.
- Side Effects and Cautions of Licorice Root
- In large amounts, licorice containing glycyrrhizin can
cause high blood pressure, salt and water retention, and low potassium
levels, which could lead to heart problems. DGL products are thought to
cause fewer side effects.
- The safety of using licorice as a supplement for more
than 4 to 6 weeks has not been thoroughly studied.
- Taking licorice together with diuretics (water pills) or
other medicines that reduce the body's potassium levels could cause
dangerously low potassium levels.
- People with heart disease or high blood pressure should
be cautious about using licorice.
- When taken in large amounts, licorice can affect the
body's levels of a hormone called cortisol and related steroid drugs, such
as prednisone.
- Pregnant women should avoid using licorice as a
supplement or consuming large amounts of licorice as food, as some research
suggests it could increase the risk of preterm labor.
- Tell your health care providers about any herb or dietary
supplement you are using, including licorice root. This helps to ensure safe
and coordinated care.
What's an Herb? An herb is a plant or part of a plant used for its flavor, scent, or potential
therapeutic properties. Includes flowers, leaves, bark, fruit, seeds, stems, and
roots. Herbal medicine products are dietary supplements that people take
to improve their health. Many herbs have been used for a long time for claimed
health benefits. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts and
fresh or dried plants. However, some can cause health problems, some are not
effective and some may interact with other drugs you are taking.
Dietary supplement is a
product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino
acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for
dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.
To use an herbal product as safely as
possible:
-
Consult your doctor first
-
Do not take a bigger dose than the label
recommends
-
Take it under the guidance of a trained
medical professional
-
Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or
nursing
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Why should I use herbal products?
The decision to use herbs to improve your
health is, as with all health decisions, a personal one. There are, however,
many good reasons to consider herbal products to complement your own
health care methods. One of the best reason, however, may be the fact that
herbs and herbal products, continue to provide real health benefits while
maintaining a remarkable safety profile. Readily available natural
substances were the first medicines used by humans. Primitive and ancient
civilizations as well as contemporary cultures throughout the world have
always relied on herbs to provide the benefits that have been observed with
their use. In fact, the World Health Organization has estimated that 80
percent of the world's population continues to use traditional therapies, a
major part of which are derived from plants, as their primary health care
tools. In our own time and culture, most herbs are available in the form of
"herbal supplements." These products are found in the form of teas, tablets,
capsules, liquid extracts, and others. We now have ready access to products
that bring the herbal traditions from all over the world in a variety of
convenient forms. In addition, scientific inquiries continue to develop our
knowledge of the benefits of plants, and often validate the observations
made over the past centuries.
Are herbs safe?
Plants that enjoy broad culinary and
therapeutic usage are generally safe. We can flavor our food with any number
of herbs to make a meal more flavorful. We can appreciate a delicious cup of
peppermint leaf or ginger root tea, or benefit from the soothing properties
of marshmallow root or the bark of slippery elm. We can take an herbal
supplement containing dandelion root or saw palmetto berries, or any number
of the other herbs. Although allergies and reactions have been recorded for
a few herbs that are widely used in foods and supplements, such individual
concerns are also seen with many foods, and do not diminish the safety
profile of the many herbs that are generally recognized as safe. On the
other hand, and as everyone knows, there are any number of plants that are
highly toxic, even deadly.
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