Common Name: Mulethi, Yastimadhu
English Name: Licorice Root
Botanical Name: Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn
Family: Leguminosae
Description: Dry, open scrubland, damp ditches or near streams; often in soils with high nitrogen content. Liquorice is herbaceous, perennial shrub, growing up to 1 meter in height. Leaves are pinnate, long with 9 to 17 leaflets. They are heart-shaped, silver to yellow in color, covered with soft hairs. Flowers are produced in a loose inflorescence from the axils of the leaves, purple to pale whitish blue in color. The fruit is an oblong, smooth pod, 2 to 3 centimeters long, hiding several small seeds.
Chemical Constituents: It contains Liquiritin, Isoliquiritin (acholacone),Liquiritigenin ,Isoliquiritigeni. It is also contains formononetin,glabrin,glabral,glycerol,glubridin,glysarin,3-hydroxyglabrol,glycyrrhisoflavonic glycyrrhizin,glycyrrhetol,galabrolide, licorice acid, liquiritic acid.
Properties: Licorice is most known for its soothing effect on inflamed mucous membranes of the throat, lungs, stomach and intestines. The root is used for coughs, all throat and bronchial irritations, urinary tract irritation, adrenal fatigue, immune deficient states, allergies, gastric and duodenal ulcers, liver disorders, exhaustion due to adrenal stress, and dermatological detoxification. It is effective for chronic hepatitis, useful in a sore throat and is also a wonderful herb for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Due to its sweet taste, licorice makes a nice addition to formulas that are unpalatable.
Used in the following MATXIN products: