Licorice, as we know it in its typical use, is an aromatic substance extracted from the roots of “Glycyrrhiza glabra”, a herbaceous plant coming from Asia and Southern Europe. The name licorice derives from Greek language and meaning sweet root. The scientific name Glycyrrhiza glabra used to refer to the licorice plant, derives from the Greek words Glykys, meaning sweet, and rhiza, that is root.

 Licorice, that is Glycyrrhiza glabra, is a perennial spontaneous herbaceous plant, with a big rhizome from which grow stolons up to two meters long and woody roots of the same length, belonging to the Leguminosae family, having a height from 50 to 100 centimeters (1.6-3.2 feet). Leaves are made of four-eight pairs of small leaves and a terminal leaf, flowers have a blue-violet color, with a short stem and are grouped in racemes located at the base of the leaves. Fruits are oblong coriaceous legumes, with few bristles, containing from two to six seeds of brown color. The rhizome and the roots have a brown rind and the internal part is woody and has a yellow color and a sweet taste. The parts which are used are the roots of the plant having at least three or four years.

 Licorice, a plant coming from South-Western Asia and South-Eastern Europe, prefers arid and untilled places, an altitude from zero and one thousand meters (0-3,280 feet). Licorice is a very vigorous plant which tends to spread both in untilled and cultivated soils, has very developed and branched roots, with underground stolons which spread horizontally and not very deep.

Sticks of licorice root

 The period of blossoming is June-July, however the harvest is done in autumn and the part of the plant used is the root. Other plants, belonging to the leguminosae family and known as licorice include: Astragalus glycyphyllum or wild licorice, found in Europe and Siberia; Hedysarum mackenzii, roots of licorice from Canada and Alaska; Glycyrrhiza epidota, growing in Northern America and known as wild licorice. The harvest is usually done every three years - from September to November or during wintertime - and however when the vegetative cycle of the plant is resting. The harvest is done by extirpating the stolons and the roots having a diameter greater than 5 millimeters. The color of the internal part of the root is yellow.

 The process of extraction of licorice is long and laborious. First of all the roots, after having being harvested, are stored in a room, they are then cleaned and mashed, and in some cases processed with a special press, similar to the ones used for the pressing of olives. The mashed product is then processed with special filters and processed with hot water in order to extract the useful substances. The next phase is about concentration where the liquid mass, rich of substances, is depurated from the excessive water and stored in large containers. The part of concentrated liquid is then processed with industrial methods, according to the type of licorice to be produced. Today the process of production is almost completely mechanized, however a particular phase - in which the product must be solidified - requires the skill and the experience of the master artisan who plays a fundamental role. Craftsmanship and technology are therefore used together in order to get the best.

 The ancient Greek, Roman, Indian and Egyptian medicine made use of licorice. It is said in the tomb of Tutankhamen have been found some licorice sticks. Despite the uncertainty of this fact, it is known in the ancient Egypt, Assyria, Greece, India and China, the therapeutic properties of the root were already known. Hippocrates, Galen, Celsus and Theophrastus prescribed licorice for curing cough, to relief stomach aches, for curing renal colics and, as an ointment, to cure wounds. In Asia the properties of licorice are being used since five thousand years, as proved by the first Chinese herbarium. Traditional Chinese medicine widely use licorice as a remedy for cough, liver diseases, food intoxications and as a sweetener for preparations. In the fifteenth century the properties of licorice were introduced in Europe by Dominican monks.

 The active principles of licorice are mainly represented by triterpene compounds and their derivatives, in particular glycirrizine (a substance fifty times sweeter than saccharose), flavonoids (liquiritine), phytosterols, saponin, glucose, starch and vitamins. The most important active principle is represented by glycirrizine, which is mainly concentrated in the woody parts of the plant. Licorice has digestive and gastric anti inflammatory properties, it is an excellent thirst quencher and emollient, it is used as a sedative for cough, expectorant, slightly laxative, increases blood pressure, as it causes water and sodium retention as well as a loss of potassium. For these reasons its consumption is not advised to the ones suffering from hypertension and to pregnant women. Licorice is also useful for gastritis and stomach ache, asthma and bronchitis. It is also used for the preparation of infusions.

 Licorice is used by the food industry, for the production of candies and chewing gums, by the liquor industry, for the production of licorice aromatized liquors or as an ingredient, and in pastry cooking. Licorice is sometimes used in the process of beer production and as an additive; it is also used in the tobacco industry, both for smoking and chewing tobaccos. The woody part of the plant is not interesting for nutritional or pharmaceutic purposes only. The extracts of licorice's active principles are also used for the production of insulating panels, for the preparation of soils to be used for the cultivation of mushrooms, to cover the soil in place of peat, and it is even used in the production of fire-proof products.

 Licorice, as already mentioned, is contra-indicated for people suffering from hypertension and pregnant women, to old people, kids and diabetic. Licorice should be consumed desultorily: an exaggerated consumption or the abuse of licorice may be origin of interaction with medicines and in particular with cortisone, with quinidine and other anti arrhythmic. Moreover, glycirrizine has side effects on the balance of body's mineral salts and an abuse of licorice may be cause of water retention, blood pressure increase, swelling of the face and of ankles, headache and asthenia.

 Licorice, besides being used by the food industry, is also used for galenic preparations, such as some types of laxatives of vegetal origin. For this reason, in many cases the licorice is consumed for long periods just because “it is a herb”. Indeed it is good to pay attention to the quantity and to the period of time in which the licorice is being consumed. It is important not to exceed the daily intake of half a gram of glycirrizine. It should be remembered licorice is to be consumed desultorily, by healthy people, from 7-8 years of age to 45-50 without serious problems, while remembering it is always good not to exaggerate or abuse.