Evaluation of Glycyrrhizic Acid Content in Licorice Roots and Products of its Processing by HPLC-UV Method

Introduction. The actual form of packaging licorice roots for water extraction are filter paper sachets. New forms of licorice root processing provide the proper technological properties of raw materials for filter paper sachets.

Aim. A comparative assessment of the of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) content in licorice roots (LR), produced in the Russian Federation and in licorice raw materials of various processing methods by HPLC-UV.

Materials and methods. The objects of research were crushed LR, packaged in packs of industrial production and laboratory-industrial samples of coarse powder (CP), cut-pressed granules (CPG) and compositions proposed for packaging in filter paper sachets. The determination of GA content was carried out on an Agilent 1200 high performance liquid chromatography system equipped with a photodiode array detector (Agilent Technologies, USA). The stationary phase is column Phenomenex Luna® C18(2) 250×4.6 mm. The composition of the mobile phase – 5% orthophosphoric acid water solution: acetonitrile (60:40). A flow rate – 1.0 ml/min, isocratic elution mode. The temperature of the column – 30 °C. The sample injected volume – 10 µl. Detection was performed at a wavelength of 254 nm; run time – 15 minutes.

Results and discussion. The GA content in CP, CPG and the composition of CP and CPG –was determined in the ratio of 80:20 (composition). It was established that the GA content varies in the LR in the range – 7.08–9.17%, CP – 3.87–3.90%, CPG – 6.88–7.08%, and the composition – 4.44–4.88%.

Conclusion. The use of HPLC-UV method for the standardization of licorice roots of domestic production and the roots of various forms of processing is very promising. The technique can be recommended for inclusion in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation of a subsequent edition, which will allow harmonizing the quality requirements of domestic licorice raw materials with the requirements of foreign pharmacopoeias.

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