The efficacy and function of licorice root

Licorice is a herb with certain medicinal value. When you go to the pharmacy to buy medicine, you will find that the ingredients of medicines for treating colds and coughs contain licorice extract. Sometimes when there is too much stomach fire or heat toxins in the body, licorice tablets will be soaked. This is mainly because licorice has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, relieving cough and asthma, and promoting diuresis and reducing swelling. It has a great effect on the body, so licorice is a must-have in our lives.

【Source】

From 1. "Pearl Sac".

2. Zhu Zhenheng: If you want to reach the lower part of the body, you must use the tip of (licorice).

【Pinyin name】Gān Cǎo Shāo

【English name】tip of Licorice root, slender Licorice root

【source】

Medicinal material source: The distal part or rootlet of the root of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., a plant of the Leguminosae family.

Latin plant, animal and mineral name: 1. Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. 2. Glycyrrhiza glabra L. 3. Glycyrrhiza inflata Batal.

[Original form]

1. Licorice is a perennial herb, 30-100cm tall. The rhizome is very thick and the skin is reddish brown. The stem is erect, woody, with short white hairs and spiny glands. The odd-numbered compound leaves are 8-20 cm long; the leaflets are 7-17, ovate or broadly ovate, 2-5 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, with acute or obtuse apex, rounded base, and covered with short hairs and glands on both sides; the stipules are broadly lanceolate and covered with white cilia. The racemes are axillary and the flowers are densely packed; the calyx is bell-shaped, with 5 calyx teeth, lanceolate, and with short hairs and spiny glands on the outside; the corolla is blue-purple, 1.4-2.5cm long, glabrous, the standard petal is large, oval, with claws, the keel petal is straight, shorter than the wing petal, and both have long claws; the stamens are dissociated, (9+1). The pods are linear, sickle-shaped or ring-shaped, and densely covered with spiny glands on the outside. Seeds 4-8, reniform. The flowering period is July-August, and the fruiting period is August-September.

2. Glycyrrhiza glabra is a perennial herb, about 1m tall. The stems and branches are covered with scaly glands and white short hairs. Odd-pinnate compound leaves, 5-14(-20)cm; leaflets, 9-17, ovate or oblong, 2-4cm long, 0.8-2cm wide, often emarginate at the apex, with short soft hairs above, and densely covered with scaly glands beneath; stipules lanceolate. The flowers are lavender, densely grown, and arranged in axillary spikes; the calyx is bell-shaped, with 5 equal lanceolate calyx teeth, and the calyx teeth are covered with white glandular hairs inside and outside; the standard petal is oblong, about 11mm long, the wing petals are about 9mm long, the claws are not obvious, and the keel petal is about 8mm long. The pods are flat, narrowly ovate, slightly curved, 20-30 mm long, 4-7 mm wide, glabrous, and sometimes with a few inconspicuous adenomas. 3-4 seeds. The flowering period is from June to August, and the fruiting period is from July to September.

3. Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Perennial herb, 50-120cm tall, sometimes with a thick and woody base. The stem is erect, often partially covered with densely connected yellowish brown scale glands, without glandular hairs but with sparse soft hairs, or almost without hairs. The odd-pinnate compound leaves are 3-16cm long; there are 3-7 leaflets, ovate, narrowly ovate, oblong to elliptic, 1.5-5cm long, 0.6-2.8cm wide, with acute or obtuse apex, rounded base, and recurved margins, often obviously wavy, dark green with yellow-brown glandular dots above, bright green with light yellow-green glandular dots below, like glue when young, shiny, glabrous or almost glabrous on both sides; petiolules are 1-4mm long. Inflorescence: racemes; flowers are small, purple-red, and loosely arranged. The pods are oblong, short, 0.8-2cm long, swollen, without or slightly concave, and covered with fine hairs and a few inconspicuous adenomas. The seeds are small, 1-7 in number. The flowering period is from June to August, and the fruiting period is from July to September.

【Habitat distribution】

Ecological environment: 1. Grown in sunny and dry calcareous grasslands, river bank sandy soil, etc.

2. This species is native to the Mediterranean region of Europe, and also grows in North Africa, Central Asia and Siberia. It is also distributed in Xinjiang, my country, and can grow in arid saline-alkali wastelands.

3.Grows in sandy soil.

Resource distribution: 1. Distributed in Northeast, North China, Northwest China and other places.

2. Distributed in Gansu, Xinjiang and other places.

【Nature and flavor】Sweet; Cold

【Channel】Heart; Liver; Spleen

【Functions and indications】Purging fire and detoxifying; diuretic and relieving stranguria. Mainly used for stranguria caused by heat; scanty urination; pain in the penis; heat accumulation in the chest

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoction, 1.5-4.5g.