The Maruzen pharmaceutical company in Japan has undertaken a grand project using the micropropagation technique for G. glabra. Glycyrrhiza glabra is one of the most important plants in cosmetics, food, and pharmaceutical markets
The major component glycyrrhizin is massively used as a sweetener in food industry and also frequently compounded in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals for the reason that it has strong bioactivities such as anti-inflammation and a chemopreventive activity on cutaneous oxidative stress
Glycyrrhiza glabra grows naturally in the middle region of the Eurasian continent of the Middle East, China, and Mongolia. However, the future supply is uncertain due to various circumstances, such as political instability in the Middle East, fear of G. glabra depletion with overharvesting, and climate change