Microwave-assisted extraction of glycyrrhizic acid from licorice root

In the present study, a microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) technique has been developed for the extraction of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) from licorice root. Various experimental conditions, such as extraction time, different ethanol and ammonia concentration, liquid/solid ratios, pre-leaching time before MAE and material size for the MAE procedure were investigated to optimize the efficiency of the extraction. Under appropriate MAE conditions, such as extraction times of 4-5min, ethanol concentrations of 50-60% (v/v), ammonia concentrations of 1-2% (v/v) and liquid/solid ratios of 10:1(ml/g), the recovery of GA from licorice root with MAE was equivalent with conventional extraction methods. Those methods include extraction at room temperature (ERT), the traditional Soxhlet extraction, heat reflux extraction and ultrasonic extraction. Due to the considerable savings in time and solvent, MAE was more effective than the conventional methods. This novel method is suitable for fast extraction of GA from licorice root.