Herbological Study on the Medicinal Effects of Roasted Licorice and Honey-roasted Licorice

Abstract

In China, the crude drug licorice (kanzo in Japanese, gancao in Chinese) has been used both dried and　roasted as the situation demands from ancient times. The meaning of roasted licorice　is simply roasted and　honey-roasted in ancient and modern times, respectively. However, it is not clear medicinal purposes of processed licorice or why licorice processed with honey began to be used. We researched ancient literature and　found that the main objective of roasting was to change the property of licorice from cool to warm (i.e., dried　licorice had the effect of draining fire), while roasted licorice was used as an energy supplement, having a　digestive effect and thus warming the body. Meanwhile, doctors began using honey-roasted licorice to treat　throat pain from the Song dynasty, and then at the end of the Qing dynasty, honey-roasted licorice was expected to have the same effects of roasted licorice (i.e., supplementing energy and having a digestive effect). PMID: 26427098 [Indexed for MEDLINE]