Liquorice root is an extremely useful herb that enjoys a fair amount of popularity now, in addition to its prominence in Ayurvedic Medicine. It is a tasting herb, which makes it appealing. It makes good tea-although if it possesses medicinal strength, it is probably not going to be your favorite beverage because it is outrageously sweet—many times more so than sugar. In some parts of the world, children chew the root as candy.
Liquorice is a powerful and diverse tonic in it own right. Conditions of adrenal insufficiency are treated well with liquorice; it contains compounds that resemble the adrenal cortical hormones. It is an immune activity enhancer and liver detoxifier. It has reproduction-enhancing and healing properties. It is a lung tonic, good for digestion, and is an energizer despite being cooler than herbs like Aswagandha. It reduces muscle spasms (especially in the legs and abdomen), cools accumulated heat and inflammation, and has a laxative effect.
Liquorice can be used for sore throat, dry throat, or laryngitis. It moistens the lungs and liquefies mucus to relieve dry cough. It makes a soothing cold and flu remedy. Because it is an adrenal builder and lung tonic, it is a perfect asthma remedy.
Studies of liquorice have revealed many components believed to be responsible for its wide spectrum of action, especially its immunostimulant properties. These compounds include glycyrrhizin, glycyrrhetinic acid, phenols, triterpenoids, and saponins.
Glycyrrhizin can inhibit growth of human viruses and bacteria; glycyrrhetinic acid and glycyrretic acid can do the same and are also anti-inflammatory. The saponins can increase anti-body production and interferon production. Animal studies show liquorice may prevent breast cancer by triggering liver enzymes that reduce tumor-promoting estrogens.
For women, liquorice is progesteronic, which means it supports and regulates progesterone production; thus it is useful for menstrual irregularities related to low activity in the progesterone phase of the cycle.
MEDICINAL USES
• In jaundice, make a fine powder of one tsp each of liquorice root, chicory seeds and rock salt and from this mixture, take half teaspoon with water twice daily.
• In peptic ulcers, soak half teaspoonful liquorice root powder in one cup water and leave overnight. Mix this with rice gruel (cooked broken rice) and take every morning.
• In hoarseness of voice, prepare rice-milk with liquorice, add ghee and take for a few
days.
• In case of epilepsy, liquorice, pounded with ash-pumpkin juice should be taken for a considerable period.
• Pain caused by accidental wounds can be relieved by applying locally warm ghee mixed with liquorice powder. Paste of liquorice mixed with neem leaves is wound-cleaning and paste of liquorice and sesame seeds mixed with ghee is wound-healing.
• If hair fall and baldness (not due to hereditary cause) is your problem, then liquorice comes to the rescue. Grind two tbsp each liquorice root and seeds of dhatura in milk cream along with quarter teaspoon saffron. Heat this paste in two tbsp coconut oil, till well mixed. Apply on bald patches every night at bedtime, continuously. Be cautious—dhatura is poisonous.
• In case of sore throat, boil liquorice roots, tailed peppers and a few sugar candy crystals in milk and take one tsp of this mixture thrice a day with honey.
• To increase the milk production in lactating mothers, one tsp of the liquorice powder should be consumed with milk and sugar, twice a day.
• Inflammation and mouth ulcers can be relieved by gargling the decoction of liquorice.
• In case of myopia, mix half teaspoonful liquorice root powder in equal quantities of ghee and honey and take thrice daily along with milk before meals for a month.
• To remove corns, mix one tablespoonful liquorice powder with half teaspoonful mustard oil, make a smooth paste and rub it on the hardened skin at bedtime.
PLEASE NOTE
Liquorice should be used with caution by people with existing hypertension (high blood pressure). However, DGL (deglycyrrhizined) liquorice does not possess the active ingredient that raises blood pressure, and can be used for liver and ulcer treatment. But DGL will be useless for adrenal building because the glycyrrhizin is what works on the adrenals. In fact, that is why it theoretically could raise the blood pressure. Too much of the active ingredient could get adrenal hormones pumping excessively.