Radix Glycyrrhizae English Name Liquorice Root Origins l

甘 草 Radix Glycyrrhizae [English Name] Liquorice Root

Origins l Gancao is one of the most commonly used Chinese herbs, and classified as a superior herb in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing. The Chinese name Gancao means the sweet herb, hence its name. l Since ancient times in China, it has been called the National Venerable Master (国老) because it has the merit of harmonizing and mollifying drugs in a prescription and eliminating various toxicities. l It is the dried root and rhizome of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. , Glycyrrhiza inflate Bat. Or Glycyrrhiza glabra L. , family Leguminosae. harmonize：调和 mollify：缓和

Plant Morphology Glycyrrhiza uralensis: 甘草 A perennial herb , 30～ 100 cm high, covered with white pubescences, glandular scars or glandular hairs throughout. Rhizome cylindrical ; main root relatively long, stout, outer bark reddish-brown to dark brown, taste sweet. pubescences: 软毛，绒毛， 到达青春期； glandular : 腺体的

Plant Morphology l Stem erect, branchelets with ridges. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, leaflets 7～ 17, ovate or broadly ovate, entire; stipules deciduous. 羽状的 branchlet 总状花序 l 托叶 花冠 花萼 Flowers in axillary racemes, dense; calyx campanulate, 5 -lobed; corolla papilion-aceous (butterfly-like), purplish-red or bluish-purple; stamens 10, diadelphous; ovary sessile, tapering upwards to become a style. 子房 花柱 雄蕊

Plant Morphology l Legume (pod) curved to be sickle-like, densely covered with brown prickly glandular hairs. Seeds 2～ 8, black, smooth. Flowering season Jun. ～Jul. ; fruiting season Jul. ～Aug. . l It is usually grown wild in sunny calcareous grasslands and along the sandy riverbanks, and now also cultivated. Distributed in Northeast China, North China and Northwest China. Legume：荚果 prickly: 多刺的 calcareous glasslands：钙质草原

Plant Morphology l Glycyrrhiza inflate Bat. : Plant without glandular hairs; leaflets 3 -7; Legume small, inflated. Distributed in Xinjiang and Gansu. l Glycyrrhiza glabra L. : Plant without glandular hairs; leaflets 19; Legume flat and straight, glabrous. Distributed in Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu.

Collection and Preparation The drug is collected in spring and autumn, removed from stems and rootlets, cut into sections (about 1 m long), sunned to be 60～ 70% dried, the roots and the rhizomes being bundled into bales, and then preserved in a ventilated dry place until dried completely. Some of liquorice roots are deprived of the cork. It is called starchy liquorice(粉甘草). ventilated: 通风的 bales：大包，捆

Description l Radix Glycyrrhiza Uralensis: Roots cylindrical. 2～ 100 cm long, 0. 6～ 3. 5 cm in diameter. Externally reddishbrown or grayish-brown, showing irregular longitudinal wrinkles and furrows, numerous transverse lenticellike protrusions and sparse rootlet scars. Sometimes the outer bark scaling off, the exposed surface appearing yellow. furrows：沟纹 sparse：稀疏的

Description 纤维性 的 l Texture compact, fracture fibrous, yellowishwhite, starchy, cambium ring distinct, rays radiate, some with clefts. Rhizomes cylindrical, externally with bud scars, pith present in the centre of fracture. Odour, slight; taste, sweet and characteristic. cleft：裂隙; bud scars：芽痕 ; pith：髓

Description u Radix Glycyrrhizae Inflatae: Roots and rhizomes woody and stout, some branched, the outer bark rough, greyish-brown, Texture compact, more lignified fibres and less starchy, Rhizomes with more and large advantitious buds. 木化纤维 u Radix Glyvyrrhizae Glabrae: Texture of root and rhizomes relatively compact, some branched, the outer bark not rough, greyish-brown, lenticels small and indistinct.

Microscopical characters l Transverse section: phelloder m Cork consisting of several layers of brown cells. Cortex relatively narrow. Phloem rays broad, mostly curved, frequently with clefts; most phloem fibres in bundles, unlignified or slightly lignified, surrounded by parenchymatous cells containing prisms of calcium oxalate; sieve tube tissue often pressed to be collapsed. Fascicular cambium distinct. Xylem rays 3～ 5 cells wide; vessels frequent up to 160 μm in diameter; xylem fibres in boundless, surrounded by parenchymatous cells containing prisms of calcium oxalate. Roots without pith at the centre; rhizomes possessing pith at the centre.

Microscopical characters l Powder: Brownish-yellow. Fibres in bundles, 8～ 14μm in diameter, thick-walls, slightly lignified, surrounded by parenchymatous cells containing prisms of calcium oxalate, forming crystal fibres. Prisms of calcium oxalate frequent. Bordered pitted vessels large, reticulated vessels rare. Cork cells reddish-brown, polygonal, slightly lignified. 多 角 形

Chemical Constituents u Triterpenoidal saponins: 6～ 14% glycyrrhizin （甘草甜素）， which upon hydrolysis yields glucuronic acid （葡萄糖醛酸）and glycyrrhetinic acid（甘草 次酸） u Flavonoids: liquritin（甘草苷）, liquiritigenin（甘草苷元）(the aglycone of liquiritin) （ 甘 草 苷 的 苷 元 ） ， isoliquiritin（ 异 甘 草 苷 ） , isoliquiritigenin（异甘草苷元）。

Pharmacology (1) Anti-ulcer effect: The drug is effective for the treatment of gastric ulcer, probably because of the flavonoids it contains. 抗溃疡作用：它治疗胃溃疡的作用，可能因为它所含的黄 酮类化合物。 (2) Adrenocortical hormonelike actions. 肾上腺皮质激素样作用。

Pharmacology (3) Detoxifying effect: Glycyrrhizin possesses detoxifying action on drugs, poisonous foods and toxins of metabolic products. Glycyrrhizin when degraded yields glucuronic acid, which in the liver will combine with toxic materials to form glucuronide to produce a detoxifying action. 解毒作用：甘草对多种药物中毒、食物中毒和代谢产物中毒等都 有一定的解毒作用。甘草甜素降解时产生葡萄醛酸，在肝脏中它 与毒物结合成葡萄醛酸类物质而起解毒作用。

Pharmacology (4) Antitussive, expectorant and antiasthmatic effects. 镇咳，去痰和平喘作用。 (5) Anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects. 抗炎作用和抗变态反应作用。

Action l To reinforce the function of the spleen and replenish qi, to remove heat and counteract toxicity, to dispel phlegm and relieve cough, and to moderate drug actions. l 能补脾益气，清热解毒，去痰止咳，调和诸药。

Indications Weakness of the spleen and the stomach, lassitude and weakness, palpitation and shortness of breath, cough with much phlegm, spasmodic pain in the epigastrium, abdomen and limbs, carbuncles and sores. It is often used for reducing the toxic or drastic actions of other drugs. It is also used as a flavouring agent in food industry. 【 主 治 】 用于脾胃虚弱、倦怠乏力、心悸气短、咳嗽痰多、腔腹、四 肢挛急疼痛、痈肿疮毒，还常用于缓解药物毒性或烈性。它在食品 业中 还常被用作调味剂。

Precaution l Incompatible with Radix Euphorbiae Pekinensis, Flos Genkwa and Radix Kansui. l 不宜与京大戟、芫花、甘遂同用。