What is Liquorice?

Liquorice or licorice  is the common name for Liquorice glabra, A flowering plant in the Fabaceae family from which sweet, aromatic flavorings are extracted from the roots.Licorice is a perennial herbaceous legume native to West Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe.Botanically, it is not closely related to fennel or fennel, which are sources of similar flavoring compounds. Licorice is used as a flavoring in candy and tobacco, especially in some European and West Asian countries.Licorice extract has been used in herbalism and traditional medicine. Excessive consumption of licorice (more than 2 mg/kg/day of pure glycyrrhizic acid, a component of licorice) may cause adverse effects and should be clinically suspected in patients with otherwise unexplained hypokalemia and muscle weakness.In at least one case, death was attributed to excessive consumption of licorice.

Cultivation and uses

Licorice grows best in well-drained soil in deep sun valleys.It is harvested in autumn two to three years after planting.Countries that produce licorice include India, Iran, Italy, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan (mulethi in Urdu), Iraq, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey.

The global licorice extract market size was valued at USD 191 million in 2019, with the largest exporters being France, Uzbekistan, China, and Iran, each accounting for 10-14% of the total.

Tobacco 

Licorice is used as a flavoring agent in tobacco, as a flavor enhancer and humectant in blended cigarettes, snuff, chewing tobacco, and pipe tobacco.Licorice provides a natural sweetness and a distinctive flavor to tobacco products and can be easily blended with natural and imitation flavoring ingredients used in the tobacco industry.Licorice can also be added to cigarette.

Food and confectionery

Licorice flavor is found in all kinds of candies or candies.In most of these candies, the flavor is enhanced by anise oil,so the actual amount of licorice is very low.Licorice candies are mainly purchased by consumers in Europe, but are also popular in other countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

Licorice candies (drops) are one of the most popular forms of candy in the Netherlands. It is sold in many forms. It is popular to mix it with peppermint, menthol, anise or bay.It is also popular to mix it with ammonium chloride (salmiak), as it is very popular in Finland.A popular example of licorice is known as zoute drop (salty licorice), but it contains very little common salt (i.e. sodium chloride).Strong, savory sweets are also popular in the Nordic countries,where liquorice-flavored wine is also popular, especially in Denmark and Finland.Dried licorice root sticks are themselves a traditional confection in the Netherlands, as they once were in England, although their popularity has waned in recent decades.They are simply sold as zoethout ("sweet wood") sticks that are chewable as candies.By chewing and sucking, the intense sweetness is released.The sweetness is 30-50 times that of sucrose,and it will not cause damage to teeth.Beginning around the 1970s, zoethout became rarer and replaced by easier-to-eat candies (including "drops").Pontefract in Yorkshire, England is where licorice mixed with sugar began to be used as a sweet in a modern way.Pontefract cakes were originally made there. In Cumbria, Durham, Yorkshire and Lancashire, it is colloquially known as "Spanish" and is said to be because Spanish monks planted it at Rivaux Abbey near Thirsk. Licorice root.

In Italy, Spain and France, licorice is popular in its natural form.The plant's roots are simply dug up, washed, dried, and chewed as a mouth freshener. Throughout Italy, unsweetened licorice is consumed in black nubs made only from 100% pure licorice extract.In Calabria, a popular liqueur is made from pure licorice extract. Licorice is used in Syria and Egypt and only in Diyarbakir,Turkey, where it is sold as a drink in shops and street vendors.

What Do We Know About Safety?

 Although licorice root is generally considered a safe food ingredient, it can cause serious side effects,including increased blood pressure and decreased potassium levels, if consumed in large amounts or over a prolonged period of time.Because the ingredients in licorice products vary,it's impossible to definitively say whether a specific intake is safe or unsafe.The effects of licorice on potassium and blood pressure are of particular concern for people with  high blood pressure (hypertension) or heart or kidney disease.Some side effects of licorice are thought to be caused by an ingredient called glycyrrhizic acid.Licorice that has had this substance removed (called deglycyrrhizinated licorice DGL) may not have the same level of side effects.High consumption of licorice during pregnancy has been linked to premature birth and health problems in the child. Little is known about the safety of using licorice root while breastfeeding.