**2. Glycyrrhizin-producing** *Glycyrrhiza* **plants**

nents of *Glycyrrhiza* species, about 100 kinds of triterpenoid saponins and sapogenins and about 300 kinds of phenolic compounds have been reported [4]. Since its start‐up in 1938, our company has been working on extracting and purifying the flavoring, sweetening, cosmetic and medicinal constituents from licorice. In the early days, the licorice extracts have been used in the food industry, which includes soy sauce and salted foods. Also the licorice extracts and glycyrrhizin have been used in the cosmetic industry. Recently, our company has developed new licorice products, such as antioxidative and antimicrobial products for foods from hydrophobic licorice extracts; whitening, antioxidative and antityrosinase products for cosmetics from hydrophobic licorice extracts; antiaging products for cosmetics from licorice leaves; and some‐disease suppression products for agriculture and fishery by water‐soluble licorice flavonoids. Our company is a world‐leading company to supply a high quality of licorice products and has a historical know‐how of licorice‐derived product manufacturing (**Figure 1**). This chapter presents the history of several kinds of food and cosmetic applications

14 Biological Activities and Action Mechanisms of Licorice Ingredients

from many extracts and purified constituents from licorice plants in our company.

**Figure 1.** Maruzen Pharmaceuticals profile, licorice plants, and its formulated finished products.

Licorice is applied to the root and stolon of some *Glycyrrhiza* species. Among around 30 species of genus *Glycyrrhiza* [5], the three species of genus *Glycyrrhiza* are commercially used, because they contain glycyrrhizin, which is the main sweetening and bioactive agent. The water‐soluble constituents of the three *Glycyrrhiza* species, *G. uralensis, G. glabra*, and *G. inflata* are almost same. On the other hand, the hydrophobic extract from the three *Glycyrrhiza* species contains the species‐specific flavonoids (**Table 1**) [6]. The structures of these compounds are shown in **Figure 2**. Glycyrrhizin is a conjugate of two molecules, glucuronic acid and glycyrrhetic acid, an oleanane‐type triterpene. Glycyrrhizin is found in the thickening root and the stolon, but not in the seed, leaf, and stem. Hydrophobic flavonoids are found in the peel of the root and stolon.


**Table 1.** Distribution and constituents of the three kinds of *Glycyrrhiza* species.

**Figure 2.** Structures of the constituents of the three kinds of *Glycyrrhiza* species.
