Brief survey of Glycyrrhiza plant resources in Xinjiang, China

Abstract

It has been reported that three glycyrrhizin-producing Glycyrrhiza species, i.e., G. inflata, G. glabra and G. uralensis, grow wild in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on the northwestern border of China. We made a brief survey in Xinjiang focusing on the comparison of the characteristics of the fruits of these three species of Glycyrrhiza plants. We found that the falcate fruits with prickly hairs of G. uralensis were clearly distinguishable from the swollen fruits of G. inflata and from the long, glossy fruits of G. glabra. Based on the findings of the present survey, the Glycyrrhiza plants used in our cultivation study in eastern Inner Mongolia could be identified as G. uralensis. The present brief survey also proved that Xinjiang is well endowed with an abundance of G. inflata resources, which are used as raw materials for making sweet food additives and glycyrrhizin, an active ingredient of licorice. Furthermore, we inspected Ephedra plant clusters in sandy wastes of the Tianshan Mountains, cultivated fields of Carthamus tinctorius and processing works of Cistanches Herba, which are representative medicinal resources produced in Xinjiang. © 2006, Medical and Pharmaceutical Society for WAKAN-YAKU. All rights reserved.