Page 243 - Pharmacognosy 2 PG303

Pharmacognosy-2 (PG303) Level 2 Clinical Pharmacy-Pharm D

Macroscopical Characters
The unpeeled Spanish liquorice consists mainly of stolons with few pieces

of roots. Frequently the drug is cut into 20 cm pieces and bound into bundles. Odor
is faint and characteristic. The taste is very sweet and almost free from bitterness and
acridity. Peeled liquorice has a pale yellow, slightly fibrous exterior which shows
longitudinal flattish areas resulting from the use of a knife for peeling.It occurs in
nearly cylindrical pieces, 14-40 cm or more long and 0.5-5.0 cm in diameter. The
top of the root is enlarged, up to 10 cm. Externally, the unpeeled root is dark
brown, reddish-brown or purplish brown. It is longitudinally wrinkled or may be
scaly, occasionally bearing small dark alternate buds in rhizomes or small circular
or transverse rootlet scars in roots. The peeled roots are yellow or yellowish,
smooth, fibrous, finely or roughly striated. Fracture is fibrous in the bark and
splintery in the wood. Internally, it shows a distinct cambium ring, separating the
yellowish grey bark from the finely radiated yellow wood. Pith is central and
present only in the rhizomes.

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