Other names used: Sweet wood

Parts used: the roots

Active compounds: glycyrrhizic acid, flavonoids, phytosterols,
sugars, starches.

The properties of liquorice

• refreshing
• emollient
• anti-inflammatory
• expectorant

It is a perennial plant with a large rhizome from which stolons and roots develop, up to two metres long, which are sold commercially in the form of sticks. It is native to the Levant, naturalised in the Mediterranean regions of Italy, particularly in Sicily and Calabria. The roots are harvested between September and November, when the plant has entered its resting phase, from plants that are at least three years old. It was already known in ancient Greco-Roman, Egyptian and Indian medicine.

Liquorice is a thirst-quenching and emollient ingredient used in lozenges and sweets, as a sweetener in confectionery and dietary products, and as a flavouring in liqueurs, beverages and tobacco. For internal use it is employed as a cough sedative and expectorant, as an antispasmodic in digestive processes, and against gastritis and heartburn; it is widely used in the treatment of ulcers.
Chewed liquorice root is a good anti-inflammatory for the mouth and gums, soothes throat irritations, clears the voice and improves breath. On the skin it has a soothing and normalising effect.

Internal use (roots)

For coughs, bronchial catarrh and heartburn.
Infusion (or decoction): 2 g in 100 ml of water. Take in cups or small cups as desired.
For digestion.
Tincture: 20 g in 100 ml of 20° alcohol (macerated for 10 days). Take in teaspoons.

External use of the roots

As an emollient and anti-inflammatory for the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat.
Decoction: 6 g in 100 ml of water. Use as a rinse, gargle or wash.