Pharmaceutical name:

英文藥名：

Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis

Latin botanical name:

拉丁名：

Glycyrrhiza glabra L. var. glandulifera, Rega

Glycyrrhiza inflata Batal. (脹果甘草)

Pron. in Japanese:

日語發音：

 kanzo

Pron. in Korean:

韓語發音：

kamch'o

Pron. in Cantonese:

月與發音：

gam1  cou2 

Common Name:

英文名”

Licorice root

Distribution:

分布：

Properties (characteristics)：

性味：

Sweet in smell and peculiarly sweet in taste. It is about five hundred times the sweetness of cane sugar.

味甘。較蔗糖甜500 倍。

Channels (meridians) entered:

歸經：

all 12 channels, mainly the heart, lung, spleen and stomach channels.

全部12 經。主要是心，肺，脾，與胃經。

Actions & Indications:

主治：

tonifies pi (spleen), enhances qi, clears heat, rids of toxins, expels phlegm and stops cough, stops pain, synergizes other herbs. Being used in spleen and stomach weakness, tired and lack of strength, palpitation and short of breath, cough with abundance of phlegm, stomach and solar plexus pain,

益脾，補氣，清熱，去毒，排痰，止咳，止痛，和其他藥味。 用於脾虚消化不良，疲倦，無力，心跳，氣短，痰多咳嗽，胃部與鸠尾痛。
 

Medical Function:

藥理：

• 1. adrenocortical hormone function：  As early as 1946 gan cao extract showed the characteristics of mineralcorticoid.    Glycyrrhiza is metabolically converted to glycyrrhetic acid (GA). GA, when incubated in-vitro with adrenal gland cells increases DHEA production.

• 2. effects on digestive system:   a. anti ulcer   b. anti convulsion.  c.  promotes secretion of insulin.  d. protects liver from toxin.

• 3. anti inflammation

• 4. anti allergy

• 5. anti cancer:  Saponins stimulate the immune system and inhibit Epstein-Barr virus expression and possess in-vitro (in the test tube) anti-cancer activities. Epstein_Barr virus is associated in certain cancer development. Glycyrrhiza also contains quercetin that has anticancer effects. Glycyrrhiza lowers serum testosterone levels and correspondingly increases estrogen levels by inducing two enzymes called 17-ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and aromatase thus inhibit prostate cancer cells.

• 6. anti virus and bacteria:   a. anti HIV   b. anti amoeba and bacteria

• 7. effect on blood vessels:   a. lower blood lipids.  Both saponins and licoflavones are known to bind to cholesterol and bile acids and have surfactant properties.

Chemical ingredients:

化學成分：

Glycyrrhizic acid, its potassium and calcium salt provide the sweet tastes of glycyrrhizin. The herb contains 5 to 11% of glycyrrhizin and  3 to 7% of Glycyrrhetinic Acid. 

Glycyrrhizic acid can be hydrolized into two molecules glucuronic acid and one molecule 18 b-glycyrrhetinic acid.

It also contains 24-hydroxyglycyrrhetic acid [1] , licorice saponins A3, B2,C2,D3, F3, G2, H2, J2, K, and K2. The hydrolized substance also contains uralenic acid.

Zhang guo gan cao (Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat.)：Its main ingredients is like those of gan cao。The 12 ingredients isolated from  zhang guo gan cao produced in Gansu include: 8 flavonoids): licochalcone A, licochalcone B, licoflavone,  liquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin, ononins and 4′，7-dihydroxyflavone;  another 3 kinds are triterprenoids，e.g. glycyrrhizic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid,  11-deoxyglycyrrhetinic acid and β-sitosterol. [1]

根及根莖含三萜類化合物甘草甜素（Glycyrrhizin） ，主要為甘草酸（Glycyrrhizic acid）的鉀，鈣鹽，為乾草的甜味成分。甘 草甜素含量在5～11％，甘草次酸含量在3～7％ 。

Dosage:

用量：

Normally 9 to 12 g. Large dosages can be up to 30 g. See the item, Caution.

一般用9～12 克。大劑量有用到30克。看禁忌條 。

Samples of formulae:

處方舉例：

1. Ba Zheng San 八正散,

2. Bai Hu Tang 白虎湯,

3. ban xia bai zhu tian ma tang 半夏白朮天麻湯,

4. Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang 補中益氣湯,

5. Chai Ge Jie Ji Tang,

6. Ding Chuan Tang 定喘湯,  

7. Gan Ma Da Zao Tang 甘麥大棗湯,

8. gui zhi tang 桂枝湯,

9. gui pi tang 歸脾湯,

10. jiao ai tang 膠艾湯,

11. Ju Pi Zhu Ru Tang,  

12. ma huang tang 麻黃湯,

13. Ren Shen Bai Du San 人參敗毒散, 

14. sang ju yin 桑菊飲,

15. Long Dan Xie Gan Tang 龍膽瀉肝湯,

16. Suan Zao Ren Tang 酸棗仁 湯,

17. Tiao Wei Cheng Qi Tang,

18. Wen Jing Tang,

19. yin qiao san 銀翹 散,

20. Xiao Feng San,

21. Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang 血 府逐淤湯。

Modern Applications：

现代應用：

1. Decrease of hypophysis frontal lobe function after child birth.

2. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) cerebrospinal meningitis

3. Addison's Disease

4. Ulcers of duodenum and stomach

5. Infant constipation

6. Hepatitis B

7. Colitis of colon with ulcers

8. Arrhythmia

9. Lung TB

10. Chronic prostate inflammation and impotence

11. Urine retention after surgery

Cautions:

禁忌：

Small dosages are used as moderating and synergizing herbs while large dosages can increase blood pressure. Long term usage of large dosage can also cause edema and hypokalemia.

Using gan cao with aspirin may increase the irritation of the stomach.

小剤量能調和配方中的 药物。大剤量能升高血壓。長期用大剤量能致水腫與鉀潴留。

甘草與水 楊酸鹽類如Aspirin 同用能刺激胃臟。

甘草反甘遂，大戟，海藻，芫花。