Ningxia Licorice

Ningxia Licorice

　　　　Licorice belongs to the legume family and is a perennial herbaceous plant. Its main root can grow up to five or six feet long. Rich in sugar content, it has a very sweet taste, hence the name "licorice." Licorice is a versatile traditional Chinese medicinal herb that not only harmonizes other herbs but also invigorates qi, strengthens the spleen, clears heat, detoxifies, and fortifies bones and muscles. It is primarily used to treat weakness of the spleen and stomach, excessive coughing, sore throat, boils and swelling, infantile toxicity, and also provides anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, blood pressure-lowering, blood lipid-lowering, central nervous system-inhibiting, and even anti-tumor benefits. It is hailed as the "elder statesman" among traditional Chinese medicines and praised as the "king of herbs." Licorice produced in Yanchi, Ningxia, is renowned both domestically and internationally for its fine skin, reddish color, rich stickiness, and purely sweet taste. Ningxia has also refined high-quality licorice into licorice frost, which is widely used in medicine, industry, food, and other fields.

　　 Ningxia has long been known as the hometown of licorice. The licorice produced here has a long history and enjoys a prestigious reputation across the northwest, hence it is also called "Western Town Licorice" or "Western True Grass." Licorice is one of Ningxia's "Five Treasures." For a long time, Western Town Licorice has been celebrated alongside "Liangwai Licorice" from the Inner Mongolia grasslands, both shining brilliantly at home and abroad as two traditional premium licorice varieties in China.

　　 Ningxia has scarce rainfall, abundant sunlight, a blend of warm and cold climates, and deep soil. This unique environment has nurtured the distinctive qualities of Western Town Licorice. Ningxia has now established multiple artificial medicinal herb cultivation bases, and the area under artificial licorice cultivation in the region has exceeded 30,000 mu, which not only increases the income of local farmers but also protects the local ecological environment.

　　 Licorice has a long history of use in medicine. As early as over two thousand years ago, the "Shennong Bencao Jing" (The Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica) ranked it among the top-grade herbs. Tao Hongjing, a medical scientist of the Southern Dynasties, revered licorice as the "elder statesman," stating: "This herb is the king of all medicines, rarely absent from classical prescriptions." "Elder statesman" refers to the title of imperial tutor. The reason licorice is esteemed as the "imperial tutor" of herbs is explained by Li Shizhen in the "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Among all herbs, licorice is the sovereign, treating 72 types of mineral and stone toxins, neutralizing 1,200 plant toxins, and harmonizing various herbs effectively—thus earning the title 'elder statesman.'"

　　 According to measurements, the glycyrrhizic acid content in licorice is around ten percent, along with other components such as mannitol and glucose. Since the sweetness of glycyrrhizic acid is fifty times higher than that of sucrose, licorice is truly worthy of being called the "sweet grass."