Chinese Medicine Gem

The licorice benefits are so great that licorice has become one of the most widely used drugs since thousands years ago in China. Compared with its great benefits, the side effects of licorice are quite fewer.

The applications of licorice in the West are different from the East. In Chinese medicine, licorice usually is used as antidote; while in western medicine, licorice usually is used as expectorant and antitussive.

Licorice benefits from the point of view of western medicine

Modern medicine has confirmed that licorice has a very good function of detoxification, which can eliminate and reduce the toxicity of ammonium chloride, histamine, chloral hydrate, benzene, arsenic and mercury etc., as well as certain detoxification for puffer fish poison, venom, diphtheria toxin, and tetanus toxin.

They also prove that licorice benefits in treatments of all sorts of coughs, and inhibits the secretion of gastric acid, thus, to some extent, benefits the treatment of gastrointestinal ulcer disease.

Licorice can also reduce the cholesterol in patients with high blood pressure. And licorice benefits as well in analgesic and anti-seizure.

In addition, according to the medical study by scientists from Japanese and U.S.A., they found that glycyrrhizin in licorice can inhibit the reproduction of HIV, in which the inhibitory rate reached 78%. And test proved that glycyrrhizin can kill the cells infected with HIV.

Licorice benefits from the point of view of Chinese medicine

Chinese medicine thinks that licorice is of sweet nature, neutral in property and enters meridians of spleen, stomach and lung. Specifically, licorice benefits as follows:

1. Licorice benefits in the treatments of symptoms such as deficiency of heart Qi, palpitation, irregularly intermittent pulse, as well as deficiency of spleen-stomach Qi, and fatigue.

Usually the former symptoms can be treated by licorice along with Gui Zhi (Cinnamomi Ramulus) etc., such as the formulas of Gui Zhi Gan Cao Tang and Zhi Gan Cao Tang.

The latter symptoms can be treated by licorice in the combination with Dang Shen (Codonopsis pilosula), Bai Zhu (Atractylodis macrocephalae Rhizomz) etc., such as the formulas of Si Jun Zi Tang and Li Zhong Tang etc.

2. Licorice benefits in the treatments of ulcers, sore throat and so on. Licorice can be used alone, internal or external, or combine with other drugs.

For the treatment of ulcers, licorice works very often together with Jin Yin Hua (Lonicerae Flos) and Lian Qiao (Forsythiae Fructus) etc to clear heat-toxicity, such as the formula of Xian Fang Huo Ming Yin.

For the treatment of sore throat, licorice usually accompanies with Jie Geng (Platycodi Radix), such as the formula of Jie Geng Tang.

For the treatment of poisoning by pesticides or food, licorice is often boiled in water along with mung bean and Fang Feng (Saposhnikoviae Radix).

3. Licorice benefits in the treatment of asthmatic cough. Licorice can be used alone, or works with other drugs, such as the following formulas:

• Er Chen Tang treats cough by dampness-phlegm;
• Ling Gan Wu Wei Jiang Xin Tang treats asthmatic cough by cold-phlegm;
• Sang Xing Tang treats cough by dryness-phlegm;
• Jie Geng Tang treats purulent sputum by lung carbuncle due to the interior accumulation of heat-toxicity;
• Gan Cao Gan Jiang Tang treats coughing up watery phlegm.

4. Licorice benefits in the treatments of stomach pain, abdominal pain and acute gastrocnemius pain. Licorice, combined with Shao Yao (Paeoniae Radix), can significantly enhance the efficacy in stopping pain, such as the formula of Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang.

5. Licorice benefits in reconciliation with the intense property of some certain drugs. For instance, licorice eases the violence of purgation by Da Huang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma) and Mang Xiao (Natrii Sulfas), as well as eases the stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, licorice can be used often in many prescriptions to reconcile various drugs.

Licorice side effects

Licorice side effects include as follows:

• Licorice has the side effects of encouraging dampness and stagnation of Qi, so licorice should not be used in those with excessive dampness and edema;
• If people take large doses, or a small amount of licorice in a long run, the side effects of licorice can lead about 20% of them to edema, feeble limbs, cramps and numbness, dizziness, headache, high blood pressure, hypokalemia and other adverse reactions; at the same time, too much potassium loss caused by hypokalemia can result in cardiac arrhythmia and muscle weakness; the elderly and those with cardiovascular disease and kidney patients prone to cause high blood pressure and congestive heart disease.
• Long-term use of glycyrrhizin can cause lactating in women who are not in lactation.

As a herbal drug, licorice has its own benefits and side effects. But it is up to us to help licorice benefits play its role, rather than its side effects.