Licorice extract (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

Licorice extract is drawn from the dried root and stolons of Glycyrrhiza glabra L., known in India as mulethi and in Ayurveda as Yashtimadhu. The defining constituent is glycyrrhizic acid, or glycyrrhizin (CAS 1405-86-3, C42H62O16, Mr 823), the chief sweet-tasting component of the root and the reason licorice has been a flavour and confectionery raw material for centuries. The European Pharmacopoeia monograph Liquiritiae radix requires not less than 4.0 percent 18-beta-glycyrrhizic acid on the dried drug; raw root in trade typically assays somewhere between 2 and 15 percent, which is why extract potency has to be built and verified rather than assumed. Commercial licorice extracts have been surveyed at glycyrrhizin levels ranging from roughly 11 to 77 percent, so a supplier's stated assay and method matter more here than in most botanicals. We offer two distinct technical families and they are not interchangeable. Water-soluble grades are produced by aqueous or hydroalcoholic extraction and standardised on glycyrrhizin at 5, 10, 12, 20 or 25 percent by HPLC; these disperse readily in water, carry the sweet licorice character, and are what confectionery, beverage, lozenge and Ayurvedic formulators normally want. Lipophilic grades are produced with ethanol and ethyl acetate and standardised on glabridin (CAS 59870-68-7) at 10, 20 or 40 percent; glabridin melts at 154 to 155 degrees C and is insoluble in cold and hot water, so these grades are formulated into ethanol or oil systems and are typically bought by cosmetic and personal-care manufacturers rather than beverage houses. Native ratio extracts at 4:1 and 10:1 are also available where the whole extractive is preferred. Glycyrrhizin brings regulatory obligations the buyer needs to design around. In the United States licorice and licorice derivatives are affirmed GRAS under 21 CFR 184.1408, with maximum use levels expressed as percent glycyrrhizin by food category: 16.0 percent in hard candy, 3.1 percent in soft candy, 1.1 percent in chewing gum, 0.5 percent in vitamin and mineral dietary supplements, 0.15 percent in non-alcoholic beverages and 0.05 percent in baked goods, and licorice ingredients may not function as non-nutritive sweeteners in sugar substitutes. In the EU, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 Annex III triggers 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 (300 mg/L above 1.2% abv), and the Scientific Committee on Food advised in 1991 that regular ingestion from all sources should not exceed 100 mg per day. Where a formulation cannot accommodate those limits, our deglycyrrhizinated grade is the appropriate alternative. Raw root is predominantly sourced from Afghanistan and Central Asia, since India is not a significant commercial grower; extraction, drying, testing and packing are done in India, and the root origin is stated per lot.