English common name is root of licorice from mother plant Glycyrrhiza glabra
The root contains primarily triterpenoid saponins (4–20%), including glycyrrhizin (2–15%), which gives the drug its sweet taste, as well as glabrolic acid and liquiritic acid. Other constituents include chalcones such as isoliquiritin and isliquiritin, flavonoids like liquiritin, rhamnoliquiritin, and liquiritigenin, isoflavonoids including glabridin and glabrene, coumarins such as umbelliferone and herniarin, as well as sugars (glucose, sucrose), starch, and bitter principles like glycyrmarin.
The drug consists of a sparsely branched root with a gray-brown to brown bark featuring longitudinal grooves and remnants of lateral roots. The cork layer is narrow, while the secondary phloem layer is thick, light yellow, and has a radial structure, similar to the woody part. It is available in slices or irregularly wrinkled pieces. The fracture is granular and fibrous.
The drug consists of a sparsely branched root with a gray-brown to brown bark featuring longitudinal grooves and remnants of lateral roots. The cork layer is narrow, while the secondary phloem layer is thick, light yellow, and has a radial structure, similar to the woody part. It is available in slices or irregularly wrinkled pieces. The fracture is granular and fibrous.
It is listed in pharmacopoeia.
In pulverized drug under the microscope we can see:
Yellow, thick-walled fibers with a pitted lumen, accompanied by chambered fibers containing calcium oxalate crystals
Yellow, lignified vessel walls with bordered pits and slit-like openings
