4«8 
Studies  on  Licorice  Root. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I      July,  1921. 
I  think  there  are  three  causes  contributing  to  this  effect : 
1.  Loss  of  a  trace  of  glycyrrhizin  in  cold  95  per  cent,  alco- 
hol. 
2.  Slight  contamination  of  glycyrrhizin  with  resins  and 
bitter  principles,  when  those  materials  are  not  first  eliminated. 
3.  The  glycyrrhizin  obtained  when  resins  and  bitter  prin- 
ciples are  first  removed  is  inclined  to  be  pulverulent,  while  that 
obtained  from  direct  extraction  of  the  root  with  75  per  cent,  al- 
cohol tends  to  adhere  together  in  a  mass.  In  the  pulverulent 
form  it  is  more  subject  to  loss  when  the  sulphuric  acid  is  being 
washed  out  with  ice  water  or  ice  cold  water  saturated  with  ether. 
Of  the  three  causes  mentioned,  I  think  the  third  has  the  greatest 
effect  on  the  results. 
Series  2. 
extraction  of  roots  with  hot  absolute  alcohol. 
It  was  found  very  convenient  to  carry  out  these  experiments  in 
the  extraction  apparatus  recommended  by  the  Joint  Rubber  Insula- 
tion Committee  (Journ.  Ind.  Eng.  Chem.,  January,  1914). 
Extractions  were  also  made  in  which  1  per  cent,  and  0.5  per 
cent,  aqueous  ammonia  were  added  to  the  alcohol,  with  the  thought 
that  the  ammonia  might  more  thoroughly  inhibit  removal  of  glycyr- 
rhizin by  hot  absolute  alcohol,  by  forming  the  ammonium  salt  of 
glycyrrhizic  acid,  should  any  of  the  uncombined  acid  be  present  in 
the  root. 
It  should  be  noted  in  the  results  below  that  the  Spanish  root 
was  a  different  sample  from  that  used  in  Series  1, 
Spanish.  Greek.         Russian.  Anatolian. 
Alc-4-  Ale.  4-  Ale.  4.  Alc.4- 
1%  1%  0.5%  0.5% 
Ale.  NH3OH  Ale.  NH3OH  Ale.  NH3OH  Ale.  NH3OH 
Hot  Abs.  Alcohol  ex- 
tracted   12.2     10,6     1 1.4     12.3     5.7         8.9     4.0  7,6 
Glyc.  after  Hot  Abs. 
Alcohol    8.1       8.2       6.4       5-9    12.1        10.3    11.0  10.1 
Glyc.  by  direct  method 
on  root   11.5  11.2         10.2  11.6  144        14-5  J4-3 
Conclusions. — The  "direct"  glycyrrhizins  are  decidedly  higher 
than  those  from  roots  extracted  with  hot  absolute  alcohol,  and  yet 
in  the  alcoholic  extracts  only  a  trace  of  glycyrrhizin  was  found. 
