Review of the phytochemical, pharmacological and physiological properties of Licorice (Glycyrrhizaglabra)

Herbal medicines contain an enormous number of natural compounds with important pharmacological properties, and their extracts have been used for treating various diseases from ancient times. Licorice with a scientific name of Glycyrrhiza Glabra from family of Legominosae, is one of the most important medicinal plants in Iran. This paper reports a literature review examining of phytochemical, pharmacological and physiological properties of Licorice. Electronic literature searches were carried out to identify the relevant published studies. We searched ISI Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, Magiran, SID and Iran Medex from their inception to the end of October 2015, so literature search was limited to English and Persian databases. The search yielded 243 articles, 86 of which met the inclusion criteria. Results indicated that licorice rhizome and it's constituents have beneficial effects on preventing and treating of gastrointestinal diseases, especially gastric ulcers, flatulence, constipation, tonsillitis and hepatitis. On the other hand the effects of licorice and it's active components on the respiratory system and fix cough, asthma and chest infections have been seen in studies. The anticancer effects of licorice compounds have been identified. Also, the beneficial effects of licorice in the treatment of depression suggests this plant is the broad range of capabilities. In general, it seems licorice and it's active components have a range of beneficial effects like anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergy, so in the plant medicine should be attention to this plant, particularly.