Recent environmentally irresponsible over-collection of wild Glycyrrhiza plants, which produce a well-known medicinal licorice (Glycyrrhizae Radix, , Gancao in Chinese and Kanzo in Japanese), is one of the factors inducing desertification. It is reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to introduce Good Field Collection Practice (GFCP) to conserve the natural environment. In 2000, the Chinese government imposed restrictions on the collection of wild Glycyrrhiza plants. Gancao is most frequently used in a famous traditional Chinese medical formulary Shan-HanLun ( ) 2) and has been used for allergic-inflammatory, gastrointestinal and liver disorders in both traditional Chinese and modern medicine. 3,4) With the increasing demand for Gancao and the decline of wild Glycyrrhiza resources, cultivated Glycyrrhiza roots have attracted attention as an additional source of Gancao. This growing interest in a new cultivated source requires a clarification of the equivalency between the cultivated Glycyrrhiza roots and concurrent Gancao. We previously reported on glycyrrhizin (GL)-content in G. uralensis roots cultivated in the eastern Nei-Meng-Gu ( ) of China, which is the habitat of G. uralensis and the major source of Dongbei-Gancao ( , Tohoku-Kanzo in Japanese).5) It was the first report that the GL-content of 4-year-old G. uralensis adventitious roots 6) exceeds the Japanese Pharmacopoeia XIV (JP XIV) standard (2.5% or more). Our cultivation study has been continued and we have obtained higher GL-content and yield of roots as well as adequate ingredients-composition similar to concurrent medicinal Gancao prepared from wild G. uralensis roots.In the present study, we describe the pharmaceutical properties of the cultivated G. uralensis roots. The overall gross similarities in chemical ingredients between the cultivated roots and Dongbei-, Xibei-( , Seihoku-Kanzo in Japanese), Xinjiang-Gancao ( , Shinkyo-Kanzo in Japanese) and wild G. uralensis roots were examined by comparing the HPLC fingerprints (chromatograms) including the GL peak. The analysis of HPLC fingerprints was further examined quantitatively by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). In addition to the chemical study, pharmacological and pharmacokinetical studies play an important role to assure safety and effective clinical use of a new medicinal candidate. The pharmacological properties were examined using IgE-mediated triphasic skin reaction in mice.7) The plasma concentration-time profile of glycyrrhetic acid (GA), an antiallergic 8) metabolite biotransformed from GL by intestinal bacteria, was also examined. MATERIALS AND METHODSCultivated G. uralensis Roots and Comparative Samples As shown in Fig. 1, 4-and 5-year-old roots cultivated in the same field in eastern Nei-Meng-Gu as in the previous report 5) were used. The botanical origin of the cultivated plant was identified previously 5) to be G. uralensis by referring to the morphological characteristics of flowers and fruits described.9) The same Dongb...

Liquorice has been used for allergic-inflammatory and liver disorders in both traditional Chinese and modern medicine. In traditional Chinese formulations, it is mainly roasted liquorice that has been used rather than un-roasted liquorice. We have compared the pharmaceutical characteristics of liquorice before and after roasting to clarify the pharmaceutical significance of the roasting. Although roasted liquorice contained less glycyrrhizin (an anti-allergic component) than un-roasted liquorice, the inhibitory potency of roasted liquorice extract (200 mg x kg(-1)) on immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated triphasic ear swelling in mice was much greater compared with un-roasted liquorice. To search for additional active ingredients, roasted liquorice extract was subjected to gel-chromatography to give an anti-allergic fraction (Fa) of molecular weight ranging from 15000 to 200000 or more, in which glycyrrhizin was not detected. By testing the activity of the various fractions, it was proved that the anti-allergic effect of roasted liquorice was due to glycyrrhizin, its metabolite glycyrrhetic acid, and the Fa fraction. The inhibitory potency of the Fa fraction (15 and 75 mg x kg(-1)) prepared from roasted liquorice was stronger than that prepared from un-roasted liquorice. Therefore, a pharmaceutical implication of roasting the liquorice seems to be associated with an increase in the anti-allergic property of the Fa fraction. It is notable that oral administration of the high molecular mass fraction (Fa) significantly inhibited IgE-mediated ear swelling six days after challenge at doses as low as 3, 15 or 75 mg x kg(-1).