The licorice or Yathtimadhu is widely been used by Ayurvedic practitioner in various diseases. The most favorable thing for the herb is it does not have any bitter taste and hence, unlike other Ayurvedic medicines, patients do not feel any nauseating while taking licorice. Children, too, deal good with the herb and therefore, an administration of the herb to children is quite an easy job.

• Helps to suppress cough
• Provides relief from sore throat
• Helps to reduce runny nose, nasal and lung congestion by reducing excess mucus secretion
• Helps to prevent viral respiratory illnesses such as influenza
• Helps to reduce discomfort in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients
• Helps to reduce lung injury in smokers
• Helps to reduce allergy coughs

Cough is a natural action of the body to eliminate irritants from the air passages. Cough could be either acute or chronic. Acute cough might develop due to an infection of the upper respiratory tract. Pneumonia, sinus infections and whooping cough are common examples of acute cough owing to viral infections. Acute cough might also develop when an irritant such as dust, chemicals, smoke or pet dander enter the airways.

Persistent cough or chronic cough might indicate the presence of a severe underlying respiratory illness. Smoking damages the lungs, leading to chronic cough. Even prolonged exposure to secondhand smoking triggers cough. People suffering from chronic sinus infection often experience persistent coughing. Coughing might be triggered by postnasal drip. Infections of the external ear might trigger coughing. Chronic cough is a common side effect of certain hypertension drugs.

People suffering from chronic acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are prone to chronic cough. In this condition, gastric acid travels from the stomach into the esophagus and might even move into the larynx. The acid irritates the larynx, triggering cough.

Prolonged coughing produces bothersome side effects. It produces physical discomfort such as chest and abdominal pain, poor sleep, dizziness, loss of bladder control and fatigue. It also causes embarrassment at workplace and at social gatherings.

Thousands of years back, in Ayurveda, the Yashtimadhu or licorice was used to fight various ‘vrina’ i.e. ulcers those were affecting internally and externally. Ayurvedic doctors still prefer prescribing this herb in any of those ulcerant conditions. The herb drew the attention for its anti-ulcerant property later in 1940s and 50s in Europe.

Scientists observed that one of the better known folk uses for the herb in Europe has been in treating of gastric ulcers. But then its modern use began in the year of 1946, when a Dutch physician, F. E. Revers showed that licorice was the active ingredient in a domestic medicine used in the Netherlands, then depicted great results obtained in curing stomach ulcers in thirty-two patients.

In the 1950s, new research evidenced that licorice-derived compounds can raise the concentration of prostaglandins in the digestive system, which can promote mucous secretion from the stomach, as well as can produce new cells in the stomach lining. It was also reported that licorice prolongs the life span of surface cells in the stomach and has an anti-pepsin effect. The combined effect contributes to the healing of those ulcers.

A study from Iranian researchers using aspirin coated with licorice found that it the herb help protecting against ulcers that is commonly induced by aspirin, reducing the size and number of ulcers.

Licorice is one of the most commonly used herbs in Western herbal medicine and has a very long history of use, both as a medicine and also as a flavoring to disguise the unpleasant flavor of other medications[1].

It is a very sweet, moist, soothing herb that helps to detoxify and protect the liver [8] and is also powerfully anti-inflammatory, being used in conditions as varied as arthritis and mouth ulcers [9].

The root is alterative, antispasmodic, demulcent, diuretic, emollient, expectorant, laxative, moderately pectoral and tonic [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7].

The root has also been shown to have a hormonal effect similar to the ovarian hormone [2].

Licorice root is much used in cough medicines and also in the treatment of catarrhal infections of the urinary tract [1].

It is taken internally in the treatment of Addison's disease, asthma, bronchitis, coughs, peptic ulcer, arthritis, allergic complaints and following steroidal therapy [8].

It should be used in moderation and should not be prescribed for pregnant women or people with high blood pressure, kidney disease or taking digoxin-based medication [8].

Prolonged usage raises the blood pressure and causes water retention [2 and 8].

Externally, the root is used in the treatment of herpes, eczema and shingles [8]. The root is harvested in the autumn when 3 - 4 years old and is dried for later use [1, 8].

[1] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9

[2] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5

[3] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2

[4] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2

[5] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959

[6] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. 0

[7] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 0

[8] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31

[9] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8

Corticosteroid effects:The glycoside glycyrrhizin is the major triterpenoid constituents of licorice root, and is 50 times sweeter than sugar. Glycyrrhizin inhibits hepatic and renal 11b-OHSD and 5a-reductase thereby blocking the inactivation of glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids and elevating their serum titer. DGL is a preparation from which the glycyrrhizin molecule has been removed. DGL is preferred to carbenoxolone sodium, a synthetic licorice derived ulcer medication that causes side effects, in the treatment of peptic ulcer disease.

Anti-inflammatory and anti-allergenic effects: Glycyrrhetinic acid inhibits PGE2, arachadonic acid release, and has a activity similar to that of hydrocortisone in rat models of arthritis. Glycyrrhetinic acid also suppresses dexamethasone-induced histamine release, and mast cell degranulation in vivo according to animal studies.
(Snow J. Protoc.J.Bot.Med., 1996, 1,3:9-14)

Anti-viral effects: Glycyrrhetinic acid inhibits Herpes simplex type 1, Varicella zoster (VZV), decreases Hepatitis B surface antigen, and inhibits HIV-1 (but not via reverse transcriptase) (Snow J. Protoc.J.Bot.Med., 1996, 1,3:9-14)

Hepatoprotective effects: Glycyrrhetinic acid reduces key liver enzymes SGOT and SGTP and induces interferon according to animal studies(Abe, N, et al. Microbiol Immunol 1982;26(6):535-539; Abe, Y, et al. Nippon Rinsho 1994 Jul;52(7):1817-1822; Fujisawa K. Trop Gastroenterol 1991 Oct-Dec;12(4):176-179; Shinada M, et al. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 1986 Feb;181(2):205-210; Eisenburg, J. Fortschr Med 1992 Jul 30;110(21):395-398.)

There are many clinical studies that have shown DGL to be effective in reducing size and symptoms of peptic ulcers without any harmful or side effects, and of reducing surgery requirements by offering safe and long term maintenance in patients with healed ulcers. One of the studies has shown that GL increases titers of prednisolone. A concentrated commercial preparation (SNMC) has been used to treat hepatitis, sub acute hepatic failure and improved symptoms in HIV hemophilia patients (Acharya SK, et al. Indian J Med Res 1993 Apr;98:69-74.Chen MF, et al . Endocrinol. Japon. 1990.37:331-341; Chen MF, et al. Endocrinol Jpn 1991 Apr;38(2):167-174;Hikono H, Kiso Y. Economic and Medical Plant Research 1988.Vol II: 39-72; Mori K, et al. 1990. Tohoku J. Exp. Med. 162: 183-193.)

Glycyrrhiza glabra, also known as licorice and sweet-wood, is native to the Mediterranean and certain areas of Asia. Historically, the dried rhizome and root of this plant were used medicinally by the Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, Indian, and Roman civilizations as an expectorant and carminative.

In modern medicine too, licorice extracts are often used as a flavoring agent to overcome bitter taste in preparations, and as an expectorant in cough and cold preparations. Licorice extracts have been used for more than sixty years in Japan to treat chronic hepatitis, and also have therapeutic benefits on viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Herpes simplex. Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) preparations are useful in treating certain types of ulcers, while topical licorice preparations have been used to sooth and heal various skin eruptions like psoriasis and herpetic lesions.

The licorice shrub is a member of the pea family and grows in subtropical environments in rich soil to a height of 4-5 feet. The herb has oval leaflets, white to purplish colored flower clusters, and flat pods. Under the ground, the licorice plant has an extensive root system with a main taproot and plenty of runners. The main taproot that is harvested for medicinal use, is soft, fibrous, and has a bright yellow interior. Glycyrrhiza is derived from the ancient Greek term ‘glykos’ that means sweet and rhiza that means the root.

Scientifically, it is a hardy herb or under-shrub with leaves multi-foliolate and imparipinnate. Shape of the flowers is in axillary spikes, papilionaceous. Licorice’s pods are compressed and contain reniform seeds.