Analysis of the genetic diversity of various Glycyrrhiza samples

The strong flavor of licorice, which comes from the Glycyrrhiza root extract, is either loved or very much disliked. Licorice flavor is found in probably half of the many traditional Chinese medicine prescription to improve their flavor. The extract is made from three authentic licorice drug plants: G. uralensis, G. glabra and G. inflata. G. uralensis being the most important one but its habitats have been diminished severely due to overharvesting; it is now an endangered and nationally-protected medicinal plant in China. Consequently most of the Glycyrrhiza plant material is now cultivated. Large amounts of glycyrrhizin, a sweetener, is present in the three species G. uralensis, G. glabra and G. inflata but absent in other species. The formation of hybrids between the various species makes it difficult to clearly identify Glycyrrhiza plant material based on the analysis of the barcoding regions ITS, matK, psbA-trH, and rbcL. We have successfully analyzed a different genomic region and its ability to reveal the differences between various Glycyrrhiza samples.