Herbal Extraction Plants

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra)

Purity Levels

95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG (also available: 40% - 90% Glabridin, D-Glycyrrhizic Acid)

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) root is one of the most commercially significant botanical extracts, valued for glycyrrhizic acid — a well-documented triterpenoid saponin — and its salt monoammonium glycyrrhizinate (MAG), both concentrated by Mechotech's plant to a 95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG specification. Glycyrrhizic acid is the standardised active behind major pharmaceutical (cough and GI-support formulations), flavour (tobacco and confectionery sweetening/masking), and cosmetic (glabridin-driven skin-lightening) demand for licorice extract. This page covers the standard, glycyrrhizin-concentrated grade; buyers needing the opposite processing goal — glycyrrhizin reduced rather than concentrated — should see our sibling Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL) plant.

Mechotech's Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) plant is engineered around the specific chemistry of glycyrrhizic acid and its salts, extracted from the root by aqueous or hydro-alcoholic solvent systems and concentrated to a declared specification through standardisation. Because the same root can be processed toward two opposite commercial goals — glycyrrhizin-rich extract for potency-driven pharma/flavour use, or glycyrrhizin-depleted DGL for GI-safety-driven use — Mechotech engineers the extraction, filtration, concentration and standardisation train specifically around whichever endpoint you require. Where the target is glabridin-standardised extract rather than glycyrrhizic acid, the same core extraction platform is reconfigured with a solvent system and polishing step tuned to that flavonoid fraction instead, since glabridin and glycyrrhizic acid partition differently during extraction. Built in SS 316L with integrated solvent recovery, automation, and full documentation, each plant is delivered as a commissioned turnkey system configured to meet the 95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG specification (with 40%–90% Glabridin and D-Glycyrrhizic Acid grades also available).

Technical Specifications

Product	Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) Extraction Plant
Botanical Name	Glycyrrhiza glabra
Raw Material	Dried licorice root
Plant Part	Root
Key Actives	Glycyrrhizic acid (triterpenoid saponin) and its salt monoammonium glycyrrhizinate (MAG); glabridin (flavonoid) in select grades
Standardisation	95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG (also available: 40%–90% Glabridin, D-Glycyrrhizic Acid)
Processing Goal	Glycyrrhizin-concentrated extract (opposite of DGL, which is glycyrrhizin-depleted)
Extraction Method	Aqueous / hydro-alcoholic solvent extraction, closed jacketed SS 316L extractors
Product-contact Material	SS 316L, electropolished, CIP-cleanable
Filtration System	Plate-and-frame filter press with cartridge polish filtration
Concentration System	Falling-film / vacuum evaporator with closed-loop solvent recovery
Drying System	Spray dryer or vacuum tray dryer
Automation	PLC-SCADA with recipe management, batch traceability and production reporting
Plant Capacity	Configured to requirement
Utility Requirements	Steam, chilled/cooling water, compressed air, soft water, power (project-specific)
Compliance	GMP hygienic design; full documentation for qualification
Final Product Form	Free-flowing standardised extract powder

Plant Capacities

Plant Scale	Root Throughput	Typical Use
Pilot	Configured to your feedstock and trial plan	Product development, parameter validation
Semi-Commercial	Configured between pilot and commercial scale	Contract manufacturing, scale-up trials
Commercial	Configured to raw-material supply and confirmed buyer volume	Export-grade continuous production

Capacity is configured to raw-material supply and confirmed buyer volume; we recommend a pilot plant to validate glycyrrhizin recovery and standardisation parameters before scaling.

Manufacturing Process

Raw Material Preparation

Dried licorice root is authenticated, tested for moisture, and milled to a uniform particle size to maximise solvent contact before extraction.

Extraction

Milled root is extracted with an aqueous or hydro-alcoholic solvent system in closed jacketed SS 316L extractors under controlled temperature and multiple cycles, tuned to maximise recovery of glycyrrhizic acid and its salts.

Filtration

The extract (miscella) is clarified through a plate-and-frame filter press followed by cartridge polish filters to remove root fibre and fines.

Concentration & Solvent Recovery

The miscella is concentrated in a falling-film / vacuum evaporator, with solvent recovered through the condenser return system.

Standardisation

The concentrate is assayed and adjusted to the declared specification of 95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG (or the selected Glabridin / D-Glycyrrhizic Acid grade) before drying.

Drying & Quality Control

The standardised Licorice extract is spray- or vacuum-dried, then released after assay, residual-solvent, heavy-metal, microbial, and moisture testing.

Major Plant Equipment

Raw material cleaning system
Hammer mill (size reduction)
Stainless-steel jacketed extraction vessels (SS 316L)
Solvent storage tanks & transfer pumps
Plate-and-frame filter press / cartridge polish filters
Falling-film / vacuum evaporator
Closed-loop solvent recovery system
Spray dryer / vacuum tray dryer
CIP (clean-in-place) system
Storage tanks & finished-product handling
PLC-SCADA control panel, electrical MCC & instrumentation

Plant Output

Licorice Extract — 95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAGLicorice Extract — 40%–90% GlabridinLicorice Extract — D-Glycyrrhizic Acid grade

Applications

Pharmaceutical cough and GI-support formulations
Tobacco and confectionery flavour/sweetening applications
Cosmetic skin-lightening formulations (glabridin-driven)
Nutraceutical capsule, tablet, and supplement manufacturing
Ayurvedic and traditional medicine preparations
Export to regulated-market ingredient buyers

Key Features

GMP Hygienic SS 316L Construction
Electropolished SS 316L product-contact surfaces use GMP hygienic design, with CIP operation between batches.
Closed-Loop Solvent Recovery
Integrated recovery returns solvent per batch for reuse.
Standardised to Specification
In-process and batch-release assay are used to check the finished extract against its declared specification (95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG, or the selected Glabridin/D-Glycyrrhizic Acid grade).
Multiple Grades on One Line
The same core process train can be standardised to 95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG, 40%–90% Glabridin, or D-Glycyrrhizic Acid, matched to pharma, flavour, or cosmetic end use.
Integrated Drying
A matched spray/vacuum dryer produces a free-flowing, low-moisture powder ready for encapsulation and blending.
Scalable Batch Capacity
Plants are configured from pilot scale to commercial capacity with modular expansion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Mechotech supply the complete machinery for Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra)?

Yes. Mechotech supplies the complete turnkey plant for Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) — engineered, fabricated at our Hyderabad facility, installed and commissioned as a single integrated system.

What specification can the Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) plant achieve?

The catalogue lists 95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG for this extract. The plant is configured to the client’s target specification; the specification achieved is established during process development and pilot validation, and batch-release testing with certificate-of-analysis documentation is defined with the client.

What other Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) specifications does Mechotech offer?

Alongside the 95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG grade, Mechotech also builds Licorice extraction plants standardised to 40%–90% Glabridin and to D-Glycyrrhizic Acid. The extraction, filtration, concentration, and drying train is engineered around whichever specification you require, confirmed by batch-release testing with full certificate-of-analysis documentation.

Should I choose standard glycyrrhizin-rich Licorice extract or Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL)?

This depends on your application. Choose this page's glycyrrhizin-rich extract (up to 95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG) when you need licorice's full pharmacological potency — for cough/GI pharma formulations, tobacco and confectionery flavour, or glabridin-driven cosmetic actives — where glycyrrhizic acid is the desired active. Choose Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL) when your buyers need a GI-supportive licorice ingredient without glycyrrhizin's known hypertensive-risk profile at high or prolonged intake — DGL retains the flavonoid fraction while the glycyrrhizin is specifically removed. This is a real, well-documented distinction in the licorice ingredient trade, not a matter of one product being "better" than the other.

Is glycyrrhizic acid the same as glycyrrhizin?

Glycyrrhizin is the common name for glycyrrhizic acid's potassium/calcium salt form as it occurs naturally in the root; monoammonium glycyrrhizinate (MAG) is a manufactured salt form used for improved solubility and taste-masking. Mechotech's plant standardises and declares both together as "Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG" on the finished extract's certificate of analysis.

What production capacities are available for the Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) plant?

Mechotech builds Licorice plants from pilot scale for product development up to commercial scale. Capacity is selected from raw-material supply, confirmed buyer volume, and investment timeline; we recommend a pilot plant to validate parameters before scaling.

Which industries use the Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) plant?

Pharmaceutical (cough/GI formulations), flavour and confectionery (tobacco, sweetening, masking), cosmetic (glabridin skin-lightening), and nutraceutical manufacturers use Mechotech plants for consistent, compliant production.

Why does licorice extract have such varied applications — pharma, flavour and cosmetic?

Licorice root contains several distinct compound classes with different commercial value: glycyrrhizic acid (and MAG), a triterpenoid saponin, drives pharmaceutical potency and intense natural sweetness used in tobacco and confectionery flavouring, while glabridin — a structurally unrelated prenylated isoflavan concentrated separately — drives the cosmetic skin-lightening use case. Because the two compound classes differ in polarity and partition differently during solvent extraction, they are not simply two purity grades of the same output: producing a glabridin-standardised extract means running the same core extraction platform with a different solvent system and polishing step tuned to that flavonoid fraction rather than the saponin fraction. This is why Mechotech offers multiple standardisation grades (95% Glycyrrhizic Acid & MAG, 40%–90% Glabridin, D-Glycyrrhizic Acid) from the same root rather than a single fixed specification.

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Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra)