Liquorice/title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FCFFF0" text="#333333" link="#000099" vlink="#000099" alink="#000099"> <table width="580" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td height="80" colspan="2"> <div align="center"> <h3><strong>Liquorice<br> (Radix Glycyrrhizae)</strong></h3> </div> </td> <td width="4" background="graphics/linebg.gif" height="546" rowspan="3"></td> <td width="95" height="546" rowspan="3"> <p align="center"><br> </p> <p align="right"> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="275" width="278" valign="top"> <p><font size="4"><b>What it is:</b></font><br> This herb is theroot or root together with the rhizome of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat., orGlycyrrhiza glabra L.(family Leguminosae).It is chiefly produced in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang. It is collected in spring and autumn,sliced after removal of the residual stem and rootlets, dried in the sun, and usedunprepared or stir-baked with honey. </p> <p><font size="4"><b>Property:</b></font><br> Sweet in flavour,neutral in property, acting on the heart,lung, spleen andstomach channels. </p> <p><font size="4"><b>Effects: </b></font><br> In-vigorating the spleen,replenishing qi, eli-minating phlegm, arresting cough,clearing away heatand toxins, relieving spasm and pain, andmoderating the pro-perties of other herbs.</p> </td> <td height="275" width="200" valign="top"> <div align="center"><img src="liquorice.gif" width="200" height="264"></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="835" colspan="2" valign="top"> <p><font size="4"><b>Used for:</b></font><br> 1. Deficiency ofthe spleen-qi andstomach-qi manifested as short breath, asthenia, poor appetite and loose stool. It is often used as an adjuvant herb with dangshen and white atractylodes rhizome, as in Decoc-tion of Four Noble Herbs (Si Junzi Tang). In cases of deficiency of qi and blood withmanifestations ofpalpitation,spontaneous sweatingand irregular-inter-vals pulse, it is often used with driedrehmannia root, dang-shen, ophiopogon root and cinnamon twig , as in Decoction ofPrepared Liquorice(Zhigancao Tang). </p> <p>2. Cough anddyspnea. For coughdue to wind- heat,it can be giventogether with platycodon root ,arctium fruit,peucedanum root and mulberry leaf ; toallay cough due towind-cold, it canbe dispensed with ephedra and bitterapricot kernel, as in Decoction of Three Crude Herbs (Sanao Tang); for cough and dyspnea due to heat in the lung, it can beused with unprepared gypsum,ephedra,bitterapricot kernel, i.e. Decoction of Ephedra, Apricot Kernel, Gypsum and Liquorice (Ma XingShi Gan Tang). </p> <p>3. Sores, ulcersand other pyogenicskin infections,swollen and sorethroat, and food orherb poisoning. Forsores, ulcers andother pyogenic skininfections, it can be used with honeysuckle flower, forsythia fruit, etc.; for swollen and sore throat, it is often given together withplatycodon, i. e.Platycodon Decoction (Jiegeng Tang); for food and herb poison-ing, it can be de-cocted together with mung bean or lede-bouriella root for oral use. </p> <p>4. Epigastricand abdominal painsand muscular spasmand pain. For epigas-tric and abdominal pains, it is often used with cinnamon twig, peony root and malt sugar, as in Minor Decoction forStrengthening theMiddle-jiao ( XiaoJianZhong Tang); for spasm and pain of the extremities, it is often prescribed withpeony root, named Decoction of Peonyand Liquorice (Shaoyao Gancao Tang). In addi-tion, liquorice is used in compound recipes to reduce the toxicity of other herbs or moderate the extreme cold or hot properties andcoordinate the effects of different herbs. </p> <p>Dosage andadministration: 2-10g, if it is used as the principal herb, 10-30g, decocted in water for an oral dose. It is used withheat-clearing drugsor purgatives, theunprepared liquorice is of the choice; ifused together with tonics, it should be honey-baked. </p> <p><font size="4"><b><br> Precautions:</b></font><br> Liquorice is con-traindicated in cases of excessivedampnesswith abdominaldistension or vomit-ing. It should not be used together with knoxia root, kansuiroot and genkwa flower. Taken in large dosage s andover long periodsof time, liquorice is liable to cause edema, to which attention should be paid. </p> </td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>