Licorice or, more correctly, Licorice Extract is produced from the rhizomes and roots of Glycyrrhiza Glabra, a leguminous plant. There are two main varieties of this plant: the Typica which is known commercially as Spanish licorice and the Glandulifera which is generally called Russian licorice. The former comes from Spain and Italy, the latter from Turkey, U.S.S.R. and the countries around Asia Minor towards India. By extraction of the comminuted rhizomes and roots with boiling water, followed by evaporation of the aqueous extract, the well known solid Licorice Extract is prepared. Licorice Extract is black and brittle and has a sweet, mild odor somewhat different from that of the botanical starting material. Licorice extract has a very sweet taste and a rich, root like, slightly spicy caramellic body of flavor. It leaves a faintly scratching feeling in the back of the mouth and it is used in medicine for its mildly expectorant effect. Used for blemished skin preparations by containing glycyrrhizin, a saponin that has anti-inflammatory properties.