Glycyrrhiza Profile

Glycyrrhiza is a perennial herb of the leguminous family and the genus Glycyrrhiza, with strong roots and rhizomes. It is a tonic Chinese herbal medicine. It is a kind of medicine that is very good for the human body. The medicinal parts are roots and rhizomes. The roots of the medicinal materials are cylindrical, 25-100 cm long, and 0.6-3.5 cm in diameter. The outer skin varies in tightness, and the surface is reddish-brown or grayish brown. The rhizome is cylindrical, with bud marks on the surface and pith in the middle of the section. The smell of such a plant is sweet and special. The function mainly treats heat-clearing and detoxifying, expectorant and relieving cough, abdominal abdomen, etc. It prefers a dry climate with long sunshine and low temperature. Glycyrrhiza grows mostly in arid and semi-arid desert grasslands, desert edges, and loess hilly areas. The roots and rhizomes are used for medicinal purposes.

Glycyrrhiza morphological characteristics

Glycyrrhiza is a perennial herb with thick roots and rhizomes with a diameter of 1-3 cm. The outer skin is brown and the inside is light yellow with sweetness. The stem is upright, multi-branched, 30-120 cm high, densely covered with scaly glands, spiny glands, and white or brown hairs. The leaves are 5-20 cm long, stipules are triangular-lanceolate, about 5 mm long and 2 mm wide, and it is densely covered with white pubescence on both sides; petioles are densely covered with brown glands and pubescent; It has 5-17 leaflets, and it's ovate, long ovate or nearly round, 1.5-5 cm long, 0.8-3 cm wide, dark green on the top and green on the bottom, both sides are densely covered with yellowish-brown glandular dots and pubescent.
Racemes are axillary, with many flowers, total peduncle shorter than leaves, densely brown scalelike glands and pubescent; bracts are oblong-lanceolate, 3-4 mm long, brown, membranous, and yellow outside Glandular dots and pubescent; the calyx of licorice is bell-shaped, 7-14 mm long, densely covered with yellow glandular dots and pubescent, the base is oblique and swollen into a sac shape, calyx teeth 5, nearly as long as the calyx tube, Most of the upper 2 teeth are connected.

Glycyrrhiza growth habit and growing environment and distribution

Glycyrrhiza grows mostly in arid and semi-arid sandy soils, desert edges, and loess hilly areas. It is also easy to multiply in the fields and river beaches of the Yellow River irrigation area. It has strong adaptability and strong resistance to adversity. Glycyrrhiza likes an ecological environment with sufficient sunlight, less rainfall, hot summer, severe cold in winter, and a large temperature difference between day and night. It has the characteristics of light, drought, heat, salt and alkali, and cold. It is suitable for growing in sandy soil with deep soil, loose soil, and good drainage.
Glycyrrhiza is a herbaceous plant distributed in Asia, Europe, Australia, America, and other places.
Glycyrrhiza is mainly distributed in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and Shanxi Shuozhou. Artificial planting of licorice is mainly produced in the Hexi Corridor of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, the periphery of Longxi, and parts of Ningxia.

Glycyrrhiza efficacy and role

1. The hypoacid contained in licorice can block the effect of carcinogens in inducing tumor growth.
2. Glycyrrhiza is used for carbuncle sores, sore throat, etc. It can be used alone, orally or externally, or in combination. Carbuncle and sore, often used the same as honeysuckle and forsythia, to clear away heat and detoxify together, such as Xianfang Huoming Decoction. Sore throat, often used with Lisianthus, such as Lisianthus soup. If pesticides or food are poisoned, it is often combined with mung beans or decoction with Fangfeng Shui.
3. Glycyrrhiza is used for asthma and cough.
4. Glycyrrhiza is used for stomach pain, abdominal pain, and acute pain of gastrocnemius contracture. It is often used together with peony, which can significantly enhance the curative effect of treating the acute pain of contracture, such as peony and licorice soup.
5. Glycyrrhiza is used to reconcile the potency of certain drugs. For example, seasoning Chengqi Decoction uses this product to relieve the diarrhea of rhubarb and Glauber's salt and its irritation to the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, this product is often used to reconcile various drugs in many prescriptions.
6. Glycyrrhiza has similar effects as adrenal cortex hormones. It has an inhibitory effect on the hypersecretion of gastric acid caused by histamine; and has the effect of antacid and relieve gastrointestinal smooth muscle spasm. 7. Glycyrrhiza flavonoids, Glycyrrhiza extract, and glycyrrhetinic acid all have obvious antitussive effects; the expectorant effect is also significant, and the strength of its action is glycyrrhizic acid> glycyrrhiza flavonoids> glycyrrhiza extract.
8. Glycyrrhiza also has anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects and can protect the inflamed throat and tracheal mucosa. Glycyrrhiza extract and glycyrrhizic acid have detoxification effects similar to glucuronic acid for certain poisons.
9. Glycyrrhiza is often used to treat symptoms that come with menopause. Because licorice contains glycyrrhizin, which is a hormone-like compound, it helps balance the hormone content in women.

Glycyrrhiza cultivation

Soil selection

For glycyrrhiza cultivation, the groundwater level should be below 1.50 meters, with good drainage conditions, the thickness of the soil layer is greater than 2 meters, there is no internal compaction layer, the pH value is about 8, and the sandy soil with convenient irrigation is better. It is best to turn the ground in autumn. If it is too late, turn it in spring, but you must ensure the soil moisture, break up the rubble, and level the ground, otherwise it will affect the whole seedlings and strong seedlings.

Variety selection and seed treatment

Good seeds are the internal factors that capture the high yield of glycyrrhiza. In China, Glycyrrhiza Ural and Glycyrrhiza inflated are generally selected as the main varieties. For those who use seeds as sowing material, mill the seeds with an electric rice mill before sowing, or reset the seeds in a ceramic pot, and dress the seeds according to 1 kg of seeds and 30 ml of 80% concentrated sulfuric acid. You can use smooth Stirring the wooden stick repeatedly, after 7 hours of stuffing at 20℃, then rinse with clean water several times and then dry for later use. The germination rate can reach more than 90%.

Sowing

Glycyrrhiza can be sown in three seasons: spring, summer, and autumn. Among them, summer is the best sown in May. At this time, the temperature is higher, the seedlings emerge quickly, and there is a longer growth period before winter. Before planting, you'd better apply high-quality farmyard manure 4000 kg per mu and 35 kg diammonium phosphate per mu as base fertilizer.