Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL)

DGL is a Glycyrrhiza glabra root extract from which glycyrrhizin has been selectively stripped. It is a genuinely different article of commerce from standard licorice extract, not a lower-strength version of it: the buyer is paying for the removal of a constituent rather than for its enrichment. The established route acidifies the aqueous licorice extract to pH 2.0 to 3.0 at 40 to 52 degrees C, at which point glycyrrhizin hydrolyses to glycyrrhetinic acid and precipitates; the precipitate is separated by decantation and high-speed centrifugation, the liquor is neutralised with dilute ammonia, then vacuum-concentrated and dried. Resin and activated-carbon adsorption routes achieve the same end. What survives the process is the flavonoid fraction, including liquiritin, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin, together with the water-soluble polysaccharides, which is why DGL retains a licorice character on the palate without carrying the glycyrrhizin load. The commercial trade specification is glycyrrhizin not more than 3.0 percent by HPLC, and that is our standard grade; typical batch results run around 2.3 to 2.4 percent. Lower-glycyrrhizin grades at NMT 1.0 percent and NMT 0.5 percent are produced for brands that market on the tightest number, and the assay method should be written into the purchase specification because HPLC and colorimetric results are not comparable. Our reference lot data: identity by FTIR, brown powder, water-extracted, water solubility not less than 90 percent, pH 5 to 7 in 1 percent aqueous solution, bulk density 0.40 to 0.80 g/mL, tap density 0.50 to 0.90 g/mL, total ash not more than 6 percent, 100 percent through 40 mesh, loss on drying not more than 6 percent. The regulatory logic is the reason most buyers specify DGL. Glycyrrhizin drives labelling and intake constraints on licorice: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 Annex III requires the statement 'contains liquorice - people suffering from hypertension should avoid excessive consumption' for confectionery at or above 4 g/kg glycyrrhizinic acid and for beverages at or above 50 mg/L, and the EU Scientific Committee on Food advised in 1991 that regular ingestion from all sources should not exceed 100 mg per day. In the US, 21 CFR 184.1408 caps licorice use by food category as percent glycyrrhizin, including 0.5 percent in vitamin and mineral dietary supplements. Building a formulation on DGL rather than standard licorice extract gives the brand far more headroom against all of these at any given inclusion rate. The powder compresses and chews well, which is why the dominant retail format is a chewable tablet; we supply the bulk extract, not the finished dosage form. The material is vegan and vegetarian, and while Glycyrrhiza is a legume it is neither soy nor peanut and is not a declarable allergen in the EU or the US.