Glycyrrhiza glabra (root)

Botanical Voucher Specimen

Source: Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 27 Feb 2014 <http://www.tropicos.org/Image/100253567>

Organoleptic Characteristics

Color: Unpeeled – yellowish or purplish brown to dark brown externally and yellowish internally. Peeled – pale yellow. Source: Natural Remedies Pvt Ltd Aroma/Odor: Characteristic Flavor/Taste: Sweet, sugary Source: American Herbal Products Association. March 2013. Organoleptic Analysis of Herbal Ingredients. AHPA: Silver Spring, MD

Macroscopic Characteristics

"...Root nearly cylindrical up to 2 cm in diameter, externally wrinkled with patches of cork. Fracture, coarsely fibrous in bark and splintery in wood." Source: Natural Remedies Pvt Ltd Source: Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz- Otto Wilhelm Thomé (1885) Foliage Source: Encyclopedia of Life http://eol.org/data_objects/2447928 Inflorescence Source: Encyclopedia of Life http://eol.org/data_objects/24932881 Dried Roots Source: Natural Remedies Pvt Ltd http://www.naturalremedy.com/ Dried Roots 2 Source: Encyclopedia of Life http://eol.org/data_objects/19163752

Microscopic Characteristics

"Rhizome: Transverse section of stolon more or less rounded. Phellem severeal layered with tabular cells; outer layers filled with reddish brown contents, inner colourless. Phellogen indistinct; phelloderm three to five layered, collenchymatous; some of the cells contain calcium oxalate and minute starch grains. Secondary phloem with numerous concentrically arranged bundles of phloem fibres and surrounded by a parenchymatous sheath containing prisms of calcium oxalate. Medullary rays distinct, bi-to multiseriate, parenchymatous, in continuation with those of xylem. The rays are narrower in xylem and wider in phloem region. Xylem consists of vessels, fibres and lignified wood parenchyma. The unpeeled drug shows the presence of polyhedral tubular brownish cork cells. In case of stolons, the pith is present and is parenchymatous. The root is characterized by the presence of tetrarch xylem and absence of pith. Powder Microscopy: It shows plenty of starch grains, hexagonal crystals vessel elements are with reticulate wall pitting." Source: Natural Remedies Pvt Ltd Transverse section Source: Natural Remedies Pvt Ltd http://www.naturalremedy.com/ Starch granules and hexagonal crystals in powder Source: Natural Remedies Pvt Ltd http://www.naturalremedy.com/ Vessels with reticulate thickening in powder Source: Natural Remedies Pvt Ltd http://www.naturalremedy.com/

High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Identification

G. glabra reference standard

'Sample Preparations: Extract 1.0 g of coarsely powdered Glycyrrhiza root in 50 mL of water by boiling for about 5 minutes, and filter. Repeat for 4-5 times or until the extract is colorless. Combine the extracts, concentrate to about 100 mL, and cool to room temperature. Before injection, filter through a membrane filter of 0.45-um or finer pore size, discarding the first 5 mL of the filtrate.

Column: C18, 25-cm x 4.6 mm, 5-um, XXXXX, XXXXX

Mobile Phase: 0.14 g of anhydrous potassium dihydrogen phosphate in 900 mL of water, add 0.5 mL phosphoric acid, mix, complete to volume with water, and mix (Solution A); and acetonitrile (Solution B)

Elution: gradient program, see below

Flow rate: 1.5 mL/min

Detection: UV, 254 nm

Injection volume: 20 uL

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