Biol. Pharm. Bull. 28(6) 1113—1116 (2005)

been important crude drugs worldwide for at least 4000 years, and the major sweet constituent, glycyrrhizin, is not only a well-recognized natural sweetener but also a pharmaceutical with antiinflammatory and hepatoprotective activities. In addition, licorice is the most frequently used component in Chinese and Japanese traditional medicines, and the roots and stolons of Glycyrrhiza uralensis FISCH. are mainly used for this purpose in Japan. Recent overcollection of wild G. uralensis plants in China resulted in a decline in wild resources and induced desertification of the habitats. Thus cultivation of G. uralensis was undertaken to substitute for the wild resources. Extensive chemical studies revealed that the roots and stolons of Glycyrrhiza plants contain not only glycyrrhizin but also many flavonoids, including species-specific flavonoids, such as glycycoumarin in G. uralensis. In addition, chemical variations in leaves of Glycyrrhiza plants were reported, and these variations are useful in identifying the species and strains of Glycyrrhiza plants. Although it was suggested that the chemical composition of the leaves differs among the various strains of G. uralensis, the relationships among geographic distribution and chemical and genetic characteristics have not yet been elucidated in detail. Since G. uralensis is the most important species used for traditional medicines in Japan, it is important to characterize the various strains from the viewpoint of medicinal resources for licorice. Thus, in the present study, comparative analysis of 10 G. uralensis strains cultivated in the Kyoto Herbal Garden of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. was undertaken to characterize the variations in plants of different origins.