As the saying "licorice in every pharmacy" goes, licorice is used in most herbal medicines and is widely applied in the development of natural medicinal materials. However, in Korea, unsuitable soil and climate conditions mean that 99% of licorice consumed for food and pharmaceutical purposes is imported.

A research team led by Professor Bang Geuk-su of the Department of Herbal Medicine Resources at Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) has developed a new technique to mass-produce licorice for medicinal use in a much shorter time, attracting attention.

The team developed a method of cultivating licorice in containers. Under traditional open-field cultivation, the plant's sensitivity to soil moisture resulted in very little of the medicinal parts. By cultivating licorice in containers, Professor Bang blocked soil moisture and pests and diseases, increasing the medicinal parts by more than tenfold compared with conventional methods.

Notably, the researchers used LED lighting to shorten the growth period of licorice, which previously required 4–5 years before harvest, to 2–3 years — a reduction of nearly two years. Also, unlike conventional methods that required excavators to harvest deeply rooted licorice, the new method makes harvesting much easier. This is expected to significantly reduce costs and increase farmers' incomes.

Licorice cultivated in this way exceeded the efficacy standard for medicinal materials set by the Korean Food and Drug Administration (glycyrrhizin content of at least 2.5%), demonstrating very high quality. In experiments, where conventional cultivation produced 1.9% glycyrrhizin, the new cultivation method yielded 3.7% or higher and more than tripled the harvest, Professor Bang said.

At the same time, the Department of Herbal Medicine Resources research team is actively pursuing additional studies based on this technology, including the development of natural cosmetics using licorice and the development of sweeteners and foods using natural medicinal materials. Given licorice's excellent anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antimicrobial properties, its potential as a natural medicinal material is vast, and new research, including drug development, is underway.

It is expected that this foundational licorice technology could function as a driving force for national R&D programs, including the Iksan Food Cluster project and the Korean Medicine Special Zone project.

Professor Bang said, "With most licorice consumed domestically currently dependent on imports, this cultivation technology could revitalize the domestic licorice market and increase farmers' incomes. Through close collaborative research with colleagues in the Department of Herbal Medicine Resources, we will strive not only to achieve mass production but also to contribute to new drug development using licorice."