Latin name: Clycyrrhiza glabraGenus: butterfly blossom plants
Plant description
The liquorice bush is one of the oldest medicinal plants and was already known to the Egyptians around 1300 BC. Licorice is perennial, grows up to 1.5 m high and is anchored in the ground with a tap root and extensive root system. The leaves are oval to heart-shaped and pointed.
The grape-like blue-lilac butterfly flowers grow in the leaf axils. From the roots one wins the dark brown liquorice juice from which the industry produces the well-known liquorice. Flowering time: May to June.
Occurrence: Mediterranean countries, also cultivated there. The root, dug up in late autumn, washed, peeled and gently dried. The liquorice juice is extracted by boiling and thickening.
Ingredients
Glycyrrhizin is the most important active ingredient and is many times sweeter than sugar. Also sterols, flavonoids.
Curative effects and application
The drug has an expectorant, anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic effect. It is used for catarrhs of the upper respiratory tract and bronchitis, as well as for inflammation of the stomach or duodenal mucosa with cramping symptoms. Licorice alone is used less frequently. The drug is usually found in tea mixtures for cough and phlegm.
Preparation
Tea: A teaspoon of liquorice root is poured over a large cup of hot water, heated to boil for another 5 minutes, strained. One can drink 2 to 3 cups a day, sweetened with honey when coughing, unsweetened when having stomach problems. Cough tea can be mixed well from the following medicinal plants: 15g liquorice root, 10g thyme herb, 10g Icelandic moss and 10g primrose blossoms.
A stomach tea is prepared as follows: 20g liquorice root, 20g camomile flowers, 10g peppermint leaves and 10g lemon balm leaves. Preparation: Pour 1⁄4 l boiling water over 2 teaspoons of each mixture, let it brew for 10 minutes and strain. Cough tea sweetened with honey 2 to 3 cups per day. Drink stomach tea unsweetened before meals.
