LICORICE. 



(Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) 



DR. ALBERT SCHNEIDER, 

 Northwestern University School of Pharmacy. 



But first he cheweth greyn and licorys 



To smellen sweete. Miller's Tale, I. 504; Chaucer. 



THE licorice yielding plant is a 

 perennial herb with a thick root- 

 stock, having a number of long 

 sparingly branched roots and 

 very long runners or rhizomes. It be 

 longs to the same family as the peas 

 and beans (Leguminoscz). It has pur 

 plish flowers with the irregular corolla 

 characteristic of the family. The pods 

 are rather small, much compressed, 

 each with from two to five seeds. 



The plant is in all probability a na 

 tive of the warm parts of the Mediter 

 ranean region. There are several var 

 ieties of G. glabra, all of which are more 

 or less extensively cultivated and 

 placed upon the market. 



As to the exact habitat of licorice 

 there is some difference of opinion. 

 According to some authorities its na 

 tive home is in the vicinity of the sea 

 of Azov. Dioscorides was among the 

 first to give a description of the plant 

 and designated the pontic lands and 

 Kappadonia of Asia Minor as its home. 

 The Romans named the plant Glycyr 

 rhiza. Celsius, Scribonius Largus, and 

 Plinius described it as Radix dulcis, 

 sweet root, on account of its sweet 

 taste. Galenus, the eminent Roman 

 physician, made extensive medicinal 

 use of the roots as well as of the juice. 

 Alexander Trallianus also recom 

 mended licorice very highly. Although 

 this plant enjoyed extensive use during 

 the middle ages it was apparently not 

 included in the herbal list of Charle 

 magne, Karl der Grosse. In the I3th 

 century licorice was highly prized in 

 Switzerland as a remedy for lung 

 troubles. It was similarly used in 

 Wales and in Denmark. Pietro di 

 Crescenzi of Bologna (1305) was the 

 first to give a full report of the occur 

 rence and cultivation of licorice. The 

 Benedictine monks of St. Michaelis 



cultivated it extensively in the vicinity 

 of Bamberg. The eminent authority, 

 Fluckiger, reports a peculiar practice 

 by these monks. A new hand in the 

 horticultural work was initiated by re 

 quiring him to dig up a complete root 

 of a licorice plant with all its branches 

 including the rhizome. This was by 

 no means an easy task on account of 

 the ramification of the roots and the 

 extreme length of the rhizome. 



Glycyrrhiza is extensively cultivated 

 in Greece, Italy, France, Russia, Ger 

 many, the Danubian Provinces, south 

 ern China, northern Africa, and to 

 some extent in England. In the Italian 

 province of Calabria licorice is planted 

 with peas and corn. In the course of 

 three years the roots are collected, the 

 juice expressed and root evaporated to 

 the proper consistency for shipping. 

 New crops are grown from cuttings of 

 the rhizomes. There is an excellent 

 quality of licorice grown in the vicinity 

 of Smyrna. The principal commercial 

 varieties are grown in Spain, southern 

 Russia, Turkey and Italy. Spanish 

 and Russian li'corice root is dried and 

 shipped in bales or bundles. Spanish 

 licorice root is unpeeled and occurs in 

 pieces several feet in length. Russian 

 licorice is usually peeled. Most of the 

 licorice used in the United States is 

 obtained from Italy, Russia, and Ger 

 many. Some of the licorice found 

 upon the market is quite fragmentary 

 and very dirty. The licorice raised in 

 England is intended for home con 

 sumption and is placed upon the mar 

 ket in both the fresh and dried state. 

 The fresh roots have an earthy and 

 somewhat nauseous odor. The peel, or 

 bark, of the roots contains tannic acid 

 and a resinous oil, both of which are 

 undesirable; hence the peeled article is 

 usually preferred. 



