Licorice

Known in China as Gan Cao, licorice root belongs to the category of herb that supplement, tonify and the sub-category of herbs that tonify qi. It is sweet. It is neutral in temperature if unprepared and warm if dry-fried. Generally it enters 12 channels but primarily the heart, lung, spleen and the stomach.

It acts to tonify the spleen qi and augments the qi. It moistens the lungs and stops cough. It clears heat and relieves fire toxicity. It is a spasm moderator and alleviates pain. It harmonizes qualities of other herbs and acts as antidote. Its common name is licorice root. In pharmacology, it is called glycyrrhizae radix. In botany, it is known as glycyrhiza.

Licorice was used by ancient herbalists in both Western and Chinese civilizations to treat many problems including respiratory problems and ulcers. It is still found in many cough preparations today. It has cough suppressive effects and is moisturizing and soothing to cough and for sore throats.

Glycyrrhizin component in licorice gives the plant its sweetness. It is in fact 50 times sweeter than sugar. The other important component of licorice is glycyrrhetinic acid. In animal studies, the combination of these two components has been shown to increase the body’s supply of interferon. Interferon is a powerful antiviral agent that works by suppressing a virus’ ability to replicate. It also has a side effect of stimulating certain other beneficial immune cells in the body.

Licorice is also useful externally in cream form. Isolating the glycyrrhetinic acid and using it in a cream, topically for eczema and psoriasis has been quite useful. In fact the results have been similar to those of topical corticosteroids. Some studies have even pointed to it being slightly superior.

One of the licorice classic uses is in the treatment of ulcers. It has been proven in many studies that licorice is as effective as the ulcer medication Tagamet. What is important to glean from these studies, however, is that licorice action is slightly different than the drug action. Generally, the drug works by suppressing stomach acid. Licorice, on the other hand, works to heal the ulcers themselves. Stomach acid does serve a purpose in the human body, and too much suppression of it can lead to other problems. The form used for this (and strongly recommended) is the deglycyrrhizinated licorice or DGL form. This is the “safe” form of licorice.