Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is a herb native to parts of Europe and Asia and the root has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. The demulcent (soothing, coating) and expectorant (promoting expulsion of phlegm/mucus from the respiratory tract) properties of licorice are highly valued and it has been utilised in both Eastern and Western medicine to treat a wide variety of illnesses from the common cold to liver disease.

Modern medical science has in recent years sought to determine the mechanisms by which licorice exerts its medicinal effects and for which illnesses it is clinically effective. Some of these studies have found licorice to be beneficial while others have not. Medical authorities also advise caution when using whole licorice or licorice extract since one of its active ingredients (glycyrrhizin) alters the metabolism of corticosteroid hormones and excessive use can result in headaches, fluid retention, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart palpitations, and other side-effects.

 
Conditions for which licorice might be used include:

Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (colds, coughs)
Probbaly the most common traditional use of licorice. Studies have shown mixed results as to whether it is truly effective for this indication.

Eczema
At least one study has shown that a topical gel containing licorice when applied to the affected area helped reduce the symptoms of eczema including itching, swelling, and redness.

Adrenal Fatigue & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
The glycyrrhizin found in licorice has been shown to block the activity of the enzyme 11beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase which converts various steroid hormones from one form to another, including conversion of cortisol to the less potent cortisone. By this mechanism licorice tends to increase levels of cortisol (and other steroids) in the body and for this reason some healthcare practitioners recommend using licorice for the treatment of conditions which may involve abnormally low levels of cortisol, e.g. adrenal fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. There is however a lack of evidence to support this use.

Peptic Ulcers & Gastrointestinal Disorders
A form of licorice with the glycyrrhizin removed, deglycyrrizinated licorice (DGL), is often used to aid in the treatment of peptic ulcers and other gastrointestinal (GI) disorders such as indigestion and GERD. DGL can be safely used in higher dosages since it lacks the potentially serious side-effects associated with glycyrrizin. As with other conditions licorice has been used for, studies into its effectiveness for GI disorders have had mixed results but many have shown DGL to be beneficial to some degree without significant side-effects.

Liver Disorders
Some evidence suggests licorice may benefit those with chronic liver disorders and many nutritional supplements formulated to support liver function contain licorice. One study has showed that a metabolite of glycyrrhizin known as glycyrrhetinic acid is liver protective but glycyrrhizin itself was not.

References:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/licorice-000262.htm
https://www.thieme-connect.com/ejournals/abstract/eced/doi/10.1055/s-2002-34587
http://www.jbc.org/content/280/11/10556.short

 
 

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Well known for its culinary uses, garlic is also a versatile medicinal plant.

Garlic has many health benefits, particularly on the cardiovascular system, but of more interest to visitors of this site will be its antimicrobial activity. Garlic is perhaps the most famous natural antibiotic which can be bought in supplement form as a dried extract or used raw, although this requires a strong constitution and may irritate the mucous membranes of the intestinal tract.

Garlic's antimicrobial activity is derived from several compounds, the most important of which appears to be allicin. Others include alliin, alliinase and S-allylcysteine and all are sulphur-containing compounds.

As a result garlic is often recommended as an alternative to antibiotics for gastrointestinal and systemic infections. Naturopaths and herbalists often recommend garlic as a treatment for Candida overgrowth and indeed one study showed it was comparable to the drug nystatin in its ability to kill Candida albicans. Garlic is also effective against a range of bacteria with studies having found garlic to be capable of combatiing infections with various strains of bacillus, brucella, citrobacter, E.coli, hafnia, klebsiella, Salmonella typhi, shigella, Vibrio chlorae and various species of staph and strep.

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