Licorice is obtained from Glycyrrhiza glabra, varieties of which are indigenous to Europe and Asia. The medicinal parts include the unpeeled, dried roots and runners, the peeled dried roots, and the rhizome with the roots.

Licorice contains 7% to 10% glycyrrhizin (glycyrrhizic acid), natural sugars, glucose, mannose, sucrose, flavonoids, isoflavonoids, and sterols (betasitosterol and stigmasterol). Glycyrrhizin is a glycoside 50 times sweeter than sugar. Licorice has been found to stimulate the release of secretin, a potential mediator of antiulcer activity. Carbenoxolene, a semisynthetic ester of glycyrrhetic acid, is an active ingredient for treating stomach ulcers.