Progress of the antioxidation of the Chinese herbal medicine Gan-Cao (Licorice)

Gan-Cao, or licorice, is a popular Chinese herbalmedicine derived fromthe dried roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, G. glabra, and G. inflata. The review describes the progress from four aspects including the history of the research on licoriceÂ’s antioxidation, the main chemical anti-oxidative constituents, the mechanism of Glycyrrhizic antioxidation, the relation between the pharmacological function and the mechanism.We also give a prospect in the fields such as research on the total-herb activity and improvement of the anti-oxidative effect by chemicalmodifying.