Liquiritin

Liquiritin at a Glance

Liquiritin is a flavanone glycoside — the 4’-glucoside of liquiritigenin — and one of the defining flavonoids of licorice root (Glycyrrhiza). Together with its chalcone isomer isoliquiritin it makes up the yellow flavonoid fraction that colours the root, and it is routinely used as a marker compound for licorice quality. It is chemically and pharmacologically distinct from glycyrrhetinic acid and glycyrrhizin, the sweet triterpenoid saponins responsible for licorice’s blood-pressure and cortisol effects.

Its best-developed research signal is antidepressant: isolated liquiritin reduces immobility in rodent despair tests and raises brain serotonin and noradrenaline, and it is the flavonoid most often singled out when licorice is studied for mood ^{1,2Reference 1Wang W et al. · 2008AnimalAntidepressant-like effects of liquiritin and isoliquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test in miceView study →Reference 2Wang R et al. · 2023ReviewAntidepressant effect of licorice total flavonoids and liquiritin: A reviewView study →}. Around that sit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective and preclinical PCOS-protective findings — a broad but entirely non-human evidence base.

The load-bearing caveat is evidence tier. There are no clinical trials of liquiritin. Everything below is rodent behaviour, isolated-organ or cell-culture work on the pure molecule, and a recurring pharmacokinetic problem — as a glycoside, liquiritin is poorly absorbed intact and must be cleaved to its aglycone liquiritigenin to enter the body ^{11,13Reference 11Wang XX et al. · 2017Intestinal absorption of triterpenoids and flavonoids from Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma in the human Caco-2 monolayer cell modelView study →Reference 13Li X et al. · 2024Pharmacokinetic study of multicomponent in Hong-Hua-Xiao-Yao tabletView study →}.

The Licorice Flavonoid Marker

Liquiritin is the phytochemical the licorice-quality literature is built around. It is the most characteristic flavanone glycoside of the root, part of the ~1–1.5% total-flavonoid fraction that gives Glycyrrhiza its yellow interior, and pharmacopoeial and analytical standards use it (with glycyrrhizic acid) as a routine identity and content marker ^{14Reference 14Asl MN · 2008ReviewReview of pharmacological effects of Glycyrrhiza sp. and its bioactive compoundsView study →}. Where glycyrrhizin carries licorice’s sweetness and its 11β-HSD / mineralocorticoid liability, liquiritin carries the flavonoid pharmacology — antioxidant and antidepressant activity above all.

Two features define its signature:

• A flavanone, not a chalcone. Liquiritin (the cyclised flavanone glycoside) and isoliquiritin (its open-chain chalcone isomer) share a molecular formula but differ in ring closure and often in potency; several studies test the pair side by side and report meaningfully different activity ^{1,15Reference 1Wang W et al. · 2008AnimalAntidepressant-like effects of liquiritin and isoliquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test in miceView study →Reference 15Kamei J et al. · 2003Antitussive principles of Glycyrrhizae radix, a main component of the Kampo preparations Bakumondo-to (Mai-men-dong-tang)View study →}.
• A pro-drug glycoside. Liquiritin is poorly absorbed as the intact glucoside; its measured pharmacokinetics are dominated by hydrolysis to the aglycone liquiritigenin, which is well absorbed, so much of liquiritin’s in-vivo effect is really liquiritigenin’s ^{11,13Reference 11Wang XX et al. · 2017Intestinal absorption of triterpenoids and flavonoids from Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma in the human Caco-2 monolayer cell modelView study →Reference 13Li X et al. · 2024Pharmacokinetic study of multicomponent in Hong-Hua-Xiao-Yao tabletView study →}. This absorption story — glycoside in, aglycone active — recurs throughout the sections below and is the single most important qualifier on the isolate’s oral data.

What It's Used For

Liquiritin’s activities are real and reproducible in the lab, but they share one ceiling: the isolated molecule has been tested only in animals and cells. The strongest and most repeated signal is antidepressant; the rest are single-study or mechanism-level findings.

Evidence by IndicationStrength of support · Beta

Support is an experimental score — weighted by study type (human > animal > in vitro) and volume. A beta, not a validated metric. Every row here is preclinical (rodent or cell); no application has human data, so scores stay modest by design.

01AntidepressantPromising48%Repeated rodent isolate despair tests + monoamine/BDNF mechanism + a dedicated review ^{1,2,3Reference 1Wang W et al. · 2008AnimalAntidepressant-like effects of liquiritin and isoliquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test in miceView study →Reference 2Wang R et al. · 2023ReviewAntidepressant effect of licorice total flavonoids and liquiritin: A reviewView study →Reference 3Yan GL et al. · 2025AnimalEffect of liquiritin on the expression of BDNF, Bax, and Bcl-2 in the hippocampus of post-stroke depression ratsView study →}

02Anti-InflammatoryShaky40%Isolate as a dual TRPV1/TRPA1 inhibitor; oral liquiritin ↓ LPS lung injury via NF-κB ^{5Reference 5Liu Z et al. · 2020Liquiritin, a novel inhibitor of TRPV1 and TRPA1, protects against LPS-induced acute lung injuryView study →}

03Cardioprotective / AntioxidantShaky34%In-vitro hypoxia/reoxygenation cardiomyocyte rescue (TNFR1/NF-κB/MMP9) + antioxidant enzymes ^{6,7Reference 6Li H et al. · 2024In vitroMechanistic investigation of the ameliorative effect of liquiritin on hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced cardiomyocyte injury based on network pharmacology and in vitro validationView study →Reference 7Wang J et al. · 2025Compositional analysis of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, G. inflata, and G. glabra after honey processing, and the cardioprotective effects in zebrafish embryosView study →}

04PCOS-ProtectiveShaky24%Single in-vitro granulosa-cell study (miR-206/PI3K/AKT) ^{8Reference 8Cui X et al. · 2022Protective effects of liquiritin on polycystic ovary syndrome through modulating ovarian granulosa cell proliferation and apoptosis via miR-206/PI3K/AKT pathwayView study →}

05Skin / MelanogenesisShaky22%Conflicting: isolate raises melanin; extract-whitening credited to glabridin ^{9,10Reference 9Uto T et al. · 2019Liquiritin and liquiritigenin induce melanogenesis via enhancement of p38 and PKA signaling pathwaysView study →Reference 10Liu J et al. · 2025Glycyrrhiza glabra extract as a skin-whitening agent: identification of active components and CRTC1/MITF pathway-inhibition mechanismView study →}

Mechanisms

The unifying thread across the antidepressant, anti-inflammatory and cardiac work is antioxidant, NF-κB-suppressing cytoprotection; the melanogenesis result is the odd one out, and points the wrong way for a “skin-whitening” claim.

Pharmacokinetics

Liquiritin’s defining PK fact is that it is a glycoside pro-drug. As the intact 4’-glucoside it is poorly absorbed across the intestinal epithelium — in the Caco-2 model the glycoside forms of licorice flavonoids were classed as poorly-to-moderately absorbed, while the aglycone liquiritigenin was well absorbed ^{11Reference 11Wang XX et al. · 2017Intestinal absorption of triterpenoids and flavonoids from Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma in the human Caco-2 monolayer cell modelView study →}. The practical consequence is that oral liquiritin is largely hydrolysed by gut microbiota / β-glucosidases to liquiritigenin, which is the species that actually enters the circulation; multi-component PK studies accordingly report liquiritin with a short mean residence time and half-life relative to the triterpenoid glycyrrhetinic acid ^{13Reference 13Li X et al. · 2024Pharmacokinetic study of multicomponent in Hong-Hua-Xiao-Yao tabletView study →}. Liquiritin (with other licorice flavonoids) also up-regulates the efflux transporters P-gp, BCRP and MRP2, a mechanism proposed for licorice’s traditional “detoxifying” combinations and a plausible route to herb–drug transporter interactions ^{12Reference 12He Y et al. · 2019Potential detoxification effect of active ingredients in liquorice by upregulating efflux transporterView study →}. Robust isolate PK in humans — Cmax, bioavailability, half-life — is not established.

Clinical Trials

There are no controlled clinical trials of isolated liquiritin. All efficacy evidence is rodent, isolated-organ or cell-culture work on the pure compound, plus whole-extract and multi-herb-formula studies in which liquiritin is one marker among many ^{2,7Reference 2Wang R et al. · 2023ReviewAntidepressant effect of licorice total flavonoids and liquiritin: A reviewView study →Reference 7Wang J et al. · 2025Compositional analysis of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, G. inflata, and G. glabra after honey processing, and the cardioprotective effects in zebrafish embryosView study →}.

Last checked: July 2026.

Liquiritin vs. Liquiritigenin & Isoliquiritin

Three closely related licorice flavonoids are easy to conflate, and the distinctions change how the evidence should be read:

• Liquiritin — the flavanone glycoside (liquiritigenin 4’-O-glucoside). This page’s molecule: abundant, a quality marker, poorly absorbed intact.
• Liquiritigenin — its aglycone (the sugar removed). The more lipophilic, better-absorbed form, and the species most of liquiritin’s oral activity is actually delivered as ^{11Reference 11Wang XX et al. · 2017Intestinal absorption of triterpenoids and flavonoids from Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma in the human Caco-2 monolayer cell modelView study →}. It carries its own reported phytoestrogen (selective ERβ) and antioxidant profile.
• Isoliquiritin — the chalcone isomer (same formula, ring open). Frequently co-tested with liquiritin and often the more active of the pair in antidepressant and other assays ^{1Reference 1Wang W et al. · 2008AnimalAntidepressant-like effects of liquiritin and isoliquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test in miceView study →}.

A fourth relative, liquiritin apioside (the apiosyl-glucoside), is the constituent actually responsible for licorice’s classic antitussive effect through a serotonergic mechanism — an activity not shown by liquiritin itself, and a good example of why the glycoside detail matters ^{15Reference 15Kamei J et al. · 2003Antitussive principles of Glycyrrhizae radix, a main component of the Kampo preparations Bakumondo-to (Mai-men-dong-tang)View study →}.

Isolate vs. Plant Studies

Liquiritin sits at a useful midpoint. Its mechanistic and behavioural work is overwhelmingly on the isolated molecule — the forced-swim/tail-suspension antidepressant series ^{1Reference 1Wang W et al. · 2008AnimalAntidepressant-like effects of liquiritin and isoliquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test in miceView study →}, the post-stroke-depression rat study ^{3Reference 3Yan GL et al. · 2025AnimalEffect of liquiritin on the expression of BDNF, Bax, and Bcl-2 in the hippocampus of post-stroke depression ratsView study →}, the TRPV1/TRPA1 lung-injury work ^{5Reference 5Liu Z et al. · 2020Liquiritin, a novel inhibitor of TRPV1 and TRPA1, protects against LPS-induced acute lung injuryView study →}, the cardiomyocyte hypoxia/reoxygenation study ^{6Reference 6Li H et al. · 2024In vitroMechanistic investigation of the ameliorative effect of liquiritin on hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced cardiomyocyte injury based on network pharmacology and in vitro validationView study →} and the granulosa-cell PCOS study ^{8Reference 8Cui X et al. · 2022Protective effects of liquiritin on polycystic ovary syndrome through modulating ovarian granulosa cell proliferation and apoptosis via miR-206/PI3K/AKT pathwayView study →} all dose purified liquiritin. As an isolate mechanism base that is a genuine strength.

But two whole-plant caveats pull the other way. First, absorption: the oral isolate is a glycoside that must be cleaved to liquiritigenin, so “liquiritin in vivo” is partly its aglycone ^{11,13Reference 11Wang XX et al. · 2017Intestinal absorption of triterpenoids and flavonoids from Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma in the human Caco-2 monolayer cell modelView study →Reference 13Li X et al. · 2024Pharmacokinetic study of multicomponent in Hong-Hua-Xiao-Yao tabletView study →}. Second, several of the most clinically flavoured results are extract- or formula-level, not isolate — the honey-processed-species cardioprotection ^{7Reference 7Wang J et al. · 2025Compositional analysis of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, G. inflata, and G. glabra after honey processing, and the cardioprotective effects in zebrafish embryosView study →} and the skin-whitening work ^{10Reference 10Liu J et al. · 2025Glycyrrhiza glabra extract as a skin-whitening agent: identification of active components and CRTC1/MITF pathway-inhibition mechanismView study →} test whole Glycyrrhiza preparations, and in the latter the depigmenting activity is credited to glabridin, not liquiritin. And there are no human data on either the isolate or liquiritin-standardised extracts.

Prevalence in Nature

Liquiritin occurs essentially only in licorice — the roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza species — where it is one of the principal flavonoids of the ~1–1.5% total-flavonoid fraction that gives the root its yellow colour ^{14Reference 14Asl MN · 2008ReviewReview of pharmacological effects of Glycyrrhiza sp. and its bioactive compoundsView study →}. It is found across the main medicinal species — G. glabra, G. uralensis (Chinese licorice) and G. inflata — but content is species- and processing-dependent: comparative analyses put the liquiritin-type flavonoids higher in G. uralensis and G. inflata than in G. glabra (which is instead the glabridin-rich chemotype), and traditional honey-roasting shifts the flavonoid profile again ^{7,14Reference 7Wang J et al. · 2025Compositional analysis of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, G. inflata, and G. glabra after honey processing, and the cardioprotective effects in zebrafish embryosView study →Reference 14Asl MN · 2008ReviewReview of pharmacological effects of Glycyrrhiza sp. and its bioactive compoundsView study →}.

Because it is a licorice-specific marker rather than a widespread plant volatile, liquiritin has no meaningful occurrence outside the genus; where it appears in the literature on other “herbs,” it is almost always because a multi-herb formula contains licorice.

Discovery & Synthesis

Liquiritin was characterised as one of the defining flavonoids of licorice root during the classical phytochemical work on Glycyrrhiza, and it has been used as a licorice marker compound ever since ^{14Reference 14Asl MN · 2008ReviewReview of pharmacological effects of Glycyrrhiza sp. and its bioactive compoundsView study →}. Its structure — liquiritigenin bearing a glucose at the 4’-position — places it in the flavanone-glycoside family alongside its chalcone isomer isoliquiritin. In practice liquiritin is obtained by extraction from licorice root rather than by synthesis: it is isolated chromatographically from the flavonoid fraction as a reference standard and research material, and the manufacturing interest in licorice flavonoids centres on extract enrichment rather than total synthesis of the single molecule. Its aglycone liquiritigenin and the glycoside/aglycone interconversion are the better-studied chemistry.

Patents: not yet researched.

Toxicity & Safety

Liquiritin carries a low toxicity flag. It is a flavonoid constituent of a widely consumed food and medicinal root, present at ordinary dietary levels in licorice, tea and confectionery, and the specific hazards of heavy licorice use — hypertension, hypokalaemia and pseudo-aldosteronism — are driven by glycyrrhizin and its aglycone glycyrrhetinic acid, not by the flavonoid fraction. No isolate-specific toxicity syndrome is described.

Two honest qualifiers belong here. Liquiritin up-regulates efflux transporters (P-gp, BCRP, MRP2), which is a plausible route to herb–drug interactions for co-administered transporter substrates, even though the same effect is framed positively as a “detox” mechanism in traditional licorice pairings ^{12Reference 12He Y et al. · 2019Potential detoxification effect of active ingredients in liquorice by upregulating efflux transporterView study →}. And in isolate testing liquiritin promotes melanogenesis rather than suppressing it, so it should not be assumed to be a skin-lightening agent ^{9Reference 9Uto T et al. · 2019Liquiritin and liquiritigenin induce melanogenesis via enhancement of p38 and PKA signaling pathwaysView study →}. Reproductive and developmental data for the isolated molecule are not characterised; because this is a molecule-level phytochemistry page, pregnancy and lactation decisions belong to the licorice herb page and any product page, where intake is actually decided.

Safety at a Glance

✅ Low / no toxicity

• Low intrinsic toxicity at dietary levels. A normal flavonoid of edible licorice; the licorice blood-pressure/potassium risks are glycyrrhizin’s, not liquiritin’s.
• No human safety or efficacy data. Every finding is rodent, isolated-organ or cell-culture work on the isolate — there is no clinical dosing or safety record for pure liquiritin.
• Transporter (P-gp/BCRP/MRP2) up-regulation. A plausible herb–drug interaction route for co-administered transporter substrates ^{12Reference 12He Y et al. · 2019Potential detoxification effect of active ingredients in liquorice by upregulating efflux transporterView study →}.
• Not a skin whitener. Isolated liquiritin increases melanin in melanoma cells; licorice’s depigmenting reputation belongs to glabridin ^{9,10Reference 9Uto T et al. · 2019Liquiritin and liquiritigenin induce melanogenesis via enhancement of p38 and PKA signaling pathwaysView study →Reference 10Liu J et al. · 2025Glycyrrhiza glabra extract as a skin-whitening agent: identification of active components and CRTC1/MITF pathway-inhibition mechanismView study →}.

Dosage

There is no established or recommended human dose for isolated liquiritin. The figures that exist are preclinical: rodent antidepressant studies used roughly 10–40 mg/kg orally ^{1Reference 1Wang W et al. · 2008AnimalAntidepressant-like effects of liquiritin and isoliquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test in miceView study →}, and cell studies used tens of micromolar ^{8Reference 8Cui X et al. · 2022Protective effects of liquiritin on polycystic ovary syndrome through modulating ovarian granulosa cell proliferation and apoptosis via miR-206/PI3K/AKT pathwayView study →}. These are research doses in animals and cell culture and do not convert to human self-dosing.

Real human exposure is dietary and indirect — liquiritin arrives as one flavonoid within whole licorice root, licorice tea, extract or confectionery, and much of what is absorbed arrives as its aglycone liquiritigenin after gut hydrolysis ^{11,13Reference 11Wang XX et al. · 2017Intestinal absorption of triterpenoids and flavonoids from Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma in the human Caco-2 monolayer cell modelView study →Reference 13Li X et al. · 2024Pharmacokinetic study of multicomponent in Hong-Hua-Xiao-Yao tabletView study →}. There is no stand-alone liquiritin product with a validated dose. These are research figures, not a personal recommendation.

References

1. Wang W, Hu X, Zhao Z, et al. (2008). Antidepressant-like effects of liquiritin and isoliquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test in mice. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18289754/
2. Wang R, Chen Y, Wang Z, et al. (2023). Antidepressant effect of licorice total flavonoids and liquiritin: A review. Heliyon. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38074876/
3. Yan GL, Dai D, Zi Q, et al. (2025). Effect of liquiritin on the expression of BDNF, Bax, and Bcl-2 in the hippocampus of post-stroke depression rats. Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40606785/
4. Jin W, Yang J, Liu D, et al. (2021). Determination of inflammation-related lipids in depressive rats by on-line supercritical fluid extraction–supercritical fluid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34171739/
5. Liu Z, Wang P, Lu S, et al. (2020). Liquiritin, a novel inhibitor of TRPV1 and TRPA1, protects against LPS-induced acute lung injury. Cell Calcium. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32388008/
6. Li H, Bu L, Sun X, et al. (2024). Mechanistic investigation of the ameliorative effect of liquiritin on hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced cardiomyocyte injury based on network pharmacology and in vitro validation. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38361515/
7. Wang J, Wang W, Liu B, et al. (2025). Compositional analysis of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, G. inflata, and G. glabra after honey processing, and the cardioprotective effects in zebrafish embryos. Planta Medica. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40494543/
8. Cui X, Zhou S, Lin Y (2022). Protective effects of liquiritin on polycystic ovary syndrome through modulating ovarian granulosa cell proliferation and apoptosis via miR-206/PI3K/AKT pathway. Cytotechnology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35733703/
9. Uto T, Ohta T, Yamashita A, et al. (2019). Liquiritin and liquiritigenin induce melanogenesis via enhancement of p38 and PKA signaling pathways. Medicines (Basel). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31234488/
10. Liu J, Xu X, Jian M, et al. (2025). Glycyrrhiza glabra extract as a skin-whitening agent: identification of active components and CRTC1/MITF pathway-inhibition mechanism. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40350048/
11. Wang XX, Liu GY, Yang YF, et al. (2017). Intestinal absorption of triterpenoids and flavonoids from Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma in the human Caco-2 monolayer cell model. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28961192/
12. He Y, Ci X, Xie Y, et al. (2019). Potential detoxification effect of active ingredients in liquorice by upregulating efflux transporter. Phytomedicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30668338/
13. Li X, Huang L, Xiao J, Zhang X (2024). Pharmacokinetic study of multicomponent in Hong-Hua-Xiao-Yao tablet. Biomedical Chromatography. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38445357/
14. Asl MN, Hosseinzadeh H (2008). Review of pharmacological effects of Glycyrrhiza sp. and its bioactive compounds. Phytotherapy Research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18446848/
15. Kamei J, Nakamura R, Ichiki H, Kubo M (2003). Antitussive principles of Glycyrrhizae radix, a main component of the Kampo preparations Bakumondo-to (Mai-men-dong-tang). European Journal of Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12782198/

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