Sweet tasting glycyrrhizic acid is considered to be the most important chemical compound in licorice root. However, environmental factors affect chemical composition of licorice root including glycyrrhizic acid content. In this study, the effects of the harvesting time and location on licorice root composition were studied. Chemical composition of the licorice roots (Glycyrrhizia glabra) collected in summer and fall seasons from three locations in Fars province (Eghlid, Beiza and Doshman-Ziary) and one location from each of Kerman (Baft) and Kermanshah (Islam-Abad) provinces was determined. Glycyrrizhic acid, ash and sugar content before and after hydrolysis were measured in all samples after extraction. A combined analysis of variances was performed on data based on a randomized complete block design in six replications. The results showed that effects of harvesting season on sugar content, and the effects of location and its interaction with harvesting season on ash, sugar and glycyrrhizic acid content were significant (p<0.01). It was also found that the lowest ash content were obtained from roots harvested from Islam-Abad in summer the highest sugar content before hydrolysis belonged to roots harvested from both Baft and Islam-Abad in fall. Highest amount of sugar after hydrolysis was reported in the roots collected from Islam-Abad in Fall. Roots harvested from Beiza in Fars province in fall had the maximum glycyrrizhic acid content.

Keywords: Location, Season, Licorice root, Glycyrrizhic acid, Sugar, HPLC.

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