Dosage

Intervention: 5 to 10 drops per day.
Treatment: 10-15 drops, 3 times per day max.

Directions for use

Shake before using. Take directly on the tongue or in a half glass of water or tea, 15 to 30 minutes
before meals. For long-term treatment, use 6 days out of 7.

Mode of Action
The active principle is a glycoside of a triterpene called glycyrrhizic acid. Licorice continues to be used as a flavoring agent in drinks, drugs, and candies. In addition to its universal role as an expectorant and demulcent and in ointments for various skin disorders, it has been used for peptic ulcers. Its most perplexing properties are those that cause the retention of water, sodium, and chloride and the increased excretion of potassium, mimicking the effects of large doses of desoxycorticosterone. Because licorice is used to flavor chewing tobacco, chewing has been associated with hypertension, sodium retention, and hypokalemia. Licorice derivatives have been found to reroute the metabolism of aldosterone, desoxycorticosterone, and glucocorticoids.
A number of active chemicals, including glycyrrhizin, are thought to account for its biologic activity. Diammonium glycyrrhizinate is a substance that is extracted and purified from licorice and may be useful in the treatment of Ulcerative Colitis. Evidence has also reported that diammonium glycyrrhizinate could improve intestinal mucosal inflammation in rats and, importantly, reduce expression of NF-κB, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) in inflamed mucosa. Clinical studies on licorice have also been performed in combination with other herbs and demonstrated to be effective in the management of UC. The antiestrogenic action documented for licorice at high concentration has been associated with licorice-binding estrogen receptors. However, estrogenic activity has also been reported for licorice and is attributed to its isoflavone constituents. It has been suggested that licorice may exert its mineralocorticoid effect via an inhibition of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Evidences have proven that licorice could also suppress both plasma renin activity and aldosterone secretion. In addition, licorice has been shown to have chemopreventive effects through influencing Bcl-2/Bax and inhibiting carcinogenesis.

Helpful Associations

Dragon Blood (available at Blissdorf)

Chaga Extrtact (available at Blissdorf)

Reishi Extract (available at Blissdorf)

Oregano essential oil (available at Blissdorf)

Mullein, Plantain herbal teas

Ethnobotany
Multiple studies have shown that licorice root prevents and treats ulcers. It does this by increasing mucus production in the stomach, soothing the stomach lining. Licorice also increases the blood supply to the stomach, which promotes healing.
Licorice also prevents ulcers from forming in the first place by suppressing gastrin production in the body. Gastrin is a hormone that stimulates gastric acid production, which can lead to ulcer formation.
Two studies have illustrated how licorice root can help in the treatment of certain forms of cancer. Researchers set out to determine if glycyrrhizin had a therapeutic effect on stomach cancer and leukemia. They discovered that glycyrrhizin causes apoptosis (cell death) of stomach cancer and leukemia cells.
This group of researchers then tested glycyrrhetinic acid, a substance in glycyrrhizin, on stomach cancer, leukemia, and liver cancer cells. Once again, the licorice compound suppressed cell growth by causing apoptosis.
Several studies have described the antiviral and antibacterial effects of licorice root. Licorice root’s phytochemicals slow down viral replication and hinder bacterial growth.
Specifically, research has shown that licorice root provided antibacterial and antiviral benefits against several microbes, including Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Candida albicans, as well as viruses like herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

History
Licorice, the dry root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, has been used for medicinal purposes for millennia; stores of licorice were found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs, including that of King Tut. Licorice has a long history of medicinal use in both Eastern and Western civilizations. In the West, Romans, Greeks, the scriptures of Ayurveda, and the ancient Egyptians mentioned the beneficial effects of licorice in traditional treatment of colds, coughs, and chills. For example, In IV-III century B.C., the Greeks first used licorice as a medicine in Europe to treat asthma, lung disease, and cough. In IV-V century A.D., licorice was used to relieve fever, influenza syndrome, nourish blood, and restore blood circulation (Wang J. et al., 2013). The Romans recommended licorice to treat lung diseases. Since the VIII-IX century A.D., licorice was used to relieve cough to treat various lung diseases (Fiore et al., 2005). Since the Middle Ages, Germans have used licorice to relieve diseases such as arterial disease, palpitations, and angina pectoris. In the East, it has a history of more than 2,000 years of medicinal use. It has been widely used to treat various diseases, such as respiratory diseases, fever, hypertension, gastric ulcers, paralysis, rheumatism, sexual weakness, and hemorrhagic diseases.
According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, licorice has a unique conditioning effect on respiratory diseases, viral cough, viral hepatitis, and other diseases. Although licorice has many pharmacological effects, and often be used as a unique “guiding medicine” in more than half of the traditional and modern prescriptions and prescriptions. The regulatory effects of licorice on other herbs include significant detoxification, treatment of drug and food poisoning, or inhibition of adverse reactions, and this “guiding” effect has been tested in many formulations. In India, licorice is widely used to treat influenza, eye disease, gallstones, liver disease and arthritis (Zhang et al., 2020). In Japan, licorice is widely used to detoxify, relieve cough, and relieve pain. In the 1940s, Japanese pharmaceutical company Minuofa (Minophagen) Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. successfully extracted glycyrrhizin from licorice and formed a compound preparation Stronger Neo-Minophagen C with glycine and cysteine, which has been used as anti-allergy and anti-hepatitis drugs in the clinic. Additionally, because licorice, as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, has anticholinergic, antitussive, hypolipidemic, antifungal, antioxidant, and anticancer effects, it has traditionally been used as anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, antibiotic, anti-arthritic, antiviral, laxative, memory stimulant (Zadeh et al., 2013). Since the 18th century, licorice has been used in various food, industrial, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications, with sound therapeutic effects and high safety. Meanwhile, licorice is added to many foods as an important spice. In modern food production, licorice is widely used in beverages, beer, meat and other foods as sweeteners, antioxidants, antimicrobials, foaming agents and flavor enhancers. It is a recognized food additive in the Europe, the United States and China (Montoro et al., 2011; Di Lorenzo et al., 2015; Li et al., 2016; Xu et al., 2016; Alam et al., 2017; Indhu and Shajahan, 2018).

Contra-Indications
Excessive amounts of licorice should be avoided by lactating women. Its use to lose weight should be discouraged.
The prolonged use of decoctions or infusions of dried, unprocessed licorice root may cause hypertension, hypokalemia, and edema due to the mineralocorticoid action of the saponin, glycyrrhizin, also called glycyrrhizic acid.

Interactions
Digoxin (Lanoxin)
Licorice seems to change hormone levels in the body. Taking licorice along with estrogen might decrease the effects of estrogen.
Licorice can decrease potassium levels. Loop diuretics can also decrease potassium levels. Taking licorice and loop diuretics together might make potassium levels drop too low.
Licorice might increase blood pressure. Taking licorice might reduce the effects of blood pressure medications. Monitor your blood pressure closely.