Toxicity of licorice

LICORICE

A detail of the plant

Scientific noun: Glycyrrhiza glabra L.

Common noun : : Licorice

Family: Pea family - Papilionaceae

Description: Perennial plant of the pea family up to 1 ' 5 m . Erect stems , glabrous, ligneous bellow. Leaves with short petiole, with 17 sticky leaflets. Axillary flowers, blue or purplish, in clusters, about 1 cm long . The fruit is a pod, till 2 cm long.

Habitat: It comes from the Mediterranean Europe and Asia Minor and it is cultivated in many places, Being naturalized in many humid places, beds of dry rivers, ravines, etc.

Active principles:

Sugars: glycyrrhizin, glucose and sucrose

Flavonoids: licoflavonol, licoricone, glycyrol, glyzarin, formononetin, isoliquiritigenin, glabrol, glabrone,

Saponins

Tannins

Betacarotenes

Amino- acids: asparagine.

Proteins

Acids: salicylic, malic, betulinic, glycyrrhetic, glycyrrizic

Minerals: Calcium, chromium, cobalt, phosphorous, magnesium potassium, silicon and sodium.

Vitamins: Vitamin C and thiamin.

Active parts: The roots

Uses :

- Medicinal: Licorice is a plant whose medicinal uses are very varied and it is widely used in phytotherapy at the moment. Either its dry root in homemade preparations or the entire series of normalized products, that can be sold in diverse ways (capsules, pills, tablets, tinctures, creams , etc.), can be found in pharmacies or herbalists . All they employ the root of this plant to extract the main component which is called glycyrrhizin. This component has been traditionally elaborated from the three year-old roots that have not still produced fruit. They are usually pick up during October and November. The process traditionally consisted on grinding the roots and making them boil in a slow fire in copper boilers constantly removing until a consistent pasta was made. In recent times modern machines carry out the process in steam containers.

In the composition of the licorice other sweeteners are used to hide its natural bitterness . As glycyrrhizin presents certain incompatibilities and a possible toxicity, as we will see later, normalized products of licorice are sold without this component, which is called Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice ( (DGL) that means in English licorice without glycyrrhizin. It has some different properties to the complete variety.

Besides normalized preparations of licorice, its dry root is also used to carry out decoctions and tinctures accomplished with the dry root macerated in some 45 º alcoholic drink during 15 days. The advantage of the root is that, once collected and washed appropriately, it can be preserved perfectly until we decide to carry out a preparation.

Industrial uses: Given the power of the licorice as a sweetener, it is habitually used in food and drinks, overcoming the power of other sweeteners. Equally it is used in the industry of the tobacco to improve the flavor of the cigarettes.

Toxicity:

Glycyrrhizin possesses mineralcorticoid and glucocorticoid properties. Its prolonged use produces negative effects in the organism by increasing blood pressure (hypertension), also by increasing sodium amount which produces water retention in the body. An abnormal lost of potassium takes place that drives to a state called hypokalemia or lack of potassium in the blood.

Many of the intoxications take place in an unconscious way because of the habitual use of this plant in candies, mainly those to refresh breath. Other reasons of the intoxications result from drinking big quantities of drinks that contain licorice, as the anisette, smoking a lot of tobacco treated with this plant, eating chewing gums or candies that contain licorice. The toxic dose depends on each individual but the European Commission, in a study in 2004, recommended that the daily dose of glycyrrhetic acid does not overcome 100 mg (It is known the case of an woman that had been daily eating a package of 200 gr. of licorice candies to alleviate constipation. At the end she had to be taken to hospital as she presented a very weak general state with very high blood pressure)

A study carried out in Iran proved that the administration of 1,3 gr. of dry extract of licorice during ten uninterrupted days diminished testosterone and inhibited sexual desire. Equally a study carried out in Finland proved that the consumption of licorice was the reason of premature childbirths.

Licorice should not be used with Type II diabetes, neither in patient with arterial hypertension or with those that have little potassium in the blood. It is not recommended in case of hepatitis and during pregnancy.

Symptoms: Headache because of blood pressure increase , edemas mainly in the face and in the ankles, sensation of burning extremities, weakness, cramps, dark urine, lost of menstruation, problems in the libido by increasing testosterone in men, arrhythmia, etc.

The use of licorice is disallowed with other medications as those that are prescribed to increase blood pressure, corticoids , or heart tonics .

Treatment: First of all one should abandon the ingestion of this product. Medical attention could be necessary in some cases with assisted respiration and surveillance of the heart beat. It will be generally necessary to provide some medicine to lower blood pressure and to control electrolytes, especially potassium.

Cultivation