Natasha Richardson
Glycyrrhiza glabra (Liquorice)
Plant Profile
Names: Sweet root, Liquiritia officinalis, Lycorys (13th century).
Element: Earth.
Planet: Mercury.
Magical uses: Love spells to help manifest love & lust.
Key words: Sweet, Strength, Energy.
Tissue type: Atrophy, Depression.
Qualities: Warming, Moistening, Stimulating.
Actions: Demulcent, Expectorant, Glycogen-conserver, Anti-inflammatory, Mild laxative, Adaptogen, Oestrogenic, Anti-ulcer, Antiviral, Anti-depressive, Anti-diuretic, Antihistamine, Antioxidant.
Physical Uses: Adrenal fatigue, Addison’s disease, Hypoglycaemia, Peptic ulcer, IBS, Crohn’s, Mouth ulcer, Dry cough, Hoarseness, Tuberculosis, Catarrh, Bronchitis, Urinary tract infection.
Emotional Uses: Passions, Sexual healing, Frozen or afraid of these emotions. Parts used: Root
Parts used: Aerial parts, mostly leaf.
Known constituents: Volatile oil, Coumarins, Chalcones, Triterpenes, Flavonoids.
Legend & Tradition
Many people who grew up in World War Two will remember liquorice as it was grown in the UK to be sold as a sweet when sugar was hard to come by. Its latin name is very descriptive of the plant, Glukos meaning sweet and Riza meaning root. It is said you can survive 10 days without food or water so long as you have liquorice root to chew on. Although it originates from South-east Europe and South-west Asia it can and has been grown in the UK for a long time. (Grieves, 1992).
Medicinal Uses
DIGESTION
Liquorice isn’t just sweet it also coats whatever it touches in a soothing layer. This is known as being demulcent. It helps peptic ulcers to heal, as well as crohn’s disease and mouth ulcers. (Dastagir & Rizvi, 2016)
ENDOCRINE
The herb is most often used as an adaptogen though. Helping to support the adrenal glands when they have been in over-drive for a long time. It can have a steroidal-like effect on the body and makes it useful in Addison’s disease. (Badkhane, et al., 2014)
RESPIRATORY
The lovely soothing effect of liquorice is most obviously felt on the tongue and throat when you drink the tea. It has been traditionally used in cough syrups for hundreds of years as a result. (Bahmani et al., 2014)
Safety Considerations
Shouldn’t be used if you have high blood pressure or liver cirrhosis and is avoided during pregnancy in case it raises blood pressure. (Mamedov & Egamberdieva, 2019).
References
Bahmani, M., Rafieian-Kopaei, M., Jeloudari, M., Eftekhari, Z., Delfan, B., Zargaran, A., & Forouzan, S. (2014). A review of the health effects and uses of drugs of plant licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) in Iran. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease, 4(S2), S847-S849.
Badkhane, Y., Yadav, A. S., Bajaj, A., Sharma, A. K., & Raghuwanshi, D. K. (2014). Glycyrrhiza glabra L. a miracle medicinal herb. Indo American Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 4.
Dastagir, G., & Rizvi, M. A. (2016). Glycyrrhiza glabra L.(Liquorice). Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 29(5).
Grieves, M. (1992) A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic, and Economic Properties, Cultivation, and Folklore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, and Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses. Dorset Press (UK).
Mamedov, N. A., & Egamberdieva, D. (2019). Phytochemical constituents and pharmacological effects of licorice: a review. Plant and Human Health, Volume 3, 1-21.
