Glycyrrhizin Antioxidant
Glycyrrhizin antioxidant is a preparation made from licorice root, Glycyrrhiza glabra and Glycyrrhiza uralensis, used to slow oxidative rancidity in fats and fat-containing foods. It is traded as a natural antioxidant alongside rosemary extract and tea polyphenols, and takes its name from glycyrrhizin, the triterpene saponin that is the best known licorice constituent.
Antioxidant activity comes mainly from the phenolic fraction of the root rather than from the saponin itself. Licorice flavonoids, principally the chalcones, flavanones and isoflavans such as liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin and glabridin, donate hydrogen to lipid peroxyl radicals and interrupt the autoxidation chain, while the saponin fraction contributes surface activity that helps disperse the preparation through an emulsion. Because the active phenolics are only weakly polar, the material works in the lipid phase and at the interface.
Preparations come as light brown to dark brown powders with a characteristic sweet, slightly earthy licorice note, and as oil dispersions or propylene glycol solutions for direct dosing into a fat. Powder grades are dispersible rather than freely soluble in water, and the flavonoid fraction is soluble in ethanol and in edible oils. Heat tolerance is sufficient for baking and short frying, though the preparation contributes both colour and a perceptible sweetness at higher dosage, which limits how much can be used in a bland product.
We source bulk Glycyrrhizin Antioxidant from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shaanxi. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Antioxidant
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Light brown to dark brown fine powder |
| Odour and taste | Characteristic licorice, sweet |
| Total licorice flavonoids | Conforms to declared grade |
| Glycyrrhizic acid by HPLC | Reported on each lot certificate |
| Identification | HPLC profile matches reference standard |
| Loss on drying | 6.0% max |
| Total ash | 6.0% max |
| Residual ethanol | 5000 mg/kg max |
| Particle size | Passes 80 mesh |
| Heavy metals as Pb | 10 mg/kg max |
| Lead | 2 mg/kg max |
| Arsenic | 1 mg/kg max |
| Total plate count | 1000 cfu/g max |
| Yeast and mould | 100 cfu/g max |
| E. coli and Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Grades are declared on the marker that matters for the intended job. Antioxidant preparations are standardised on total licorice flavonoid content, commonly from a few percent for crude decolourised extracts up to 30 or 40 percent for enriched fractions, while sweetener and flavour preparations from the same root are standardised on glycyrrhizin, typically 10 to 98 percent as glycyrrhizic acid or as its ammonium salt. The two are not interchangeable, since a high glycyrrhizin assay says little about antioxidant capacity.
Physical forms include the spray-dried powder, often on a maltodextrin carrier, oil dispersions in sunflower or medium chain triglyceride oil, and propylene glycol or ethanol solutions. Deodorised and partly decolourised grades are produced where the licorice aroma and the dark colour would be noticed in the finished food.
Applications
- Frying oils and shortenings, slowing peroxide formation during heating
- Meat products and cured meats, where the licorice sweetness is compatible with the seasoning and delays warmed-over flavour
- Bakery fats, biscuit doughs and fillings
- Nut pastes and roasted nut coatings
- Instant noodles and fried snacks, applied through the frying oil or seasoning
- Soy sauce, bean paste and other fermented condiments, where colour and sweetness are already part of the profile
- Confectionery and licorice-flavoured products, contributing flavour and antioxidant effect at once
- Pet food and rendered fat, as a plant-derived antioxidant
- Cosmetic emulsions and oral care formulations, for antioxidant and skin brightening claims
China Manufacturers of Glycyrrhizin Antioxidant
Top Glycyrrhizin Antioxidant manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States licorice and licorice derivatives, including glycyrrhizin and ammonium glycyrrhizinate, are affirmed as generally recognised as safe for use as flavouring agents under 21 CFR 184.1408, with maximum use levels set by food category. That listing covers flavour use; a licorice preparation added specifically for a technical antioxidant purpose is placed on the market under a generally recognised as safe determination for that particular preparation and use.
In the European Union glycyrrhizic acid and its ammonium salt are handled under the flavourings framework rather than as authorised food additives, and licorice-containing confectionery and beverages carry a mandatory advisory statement above defined glycyrrhizic acid levels because of the effect of the saponin on blood pressure in susceptible people. JECFA has evaluated glycyrrhizinic acid as a flavouring agent. Licorice flavonoid antioxidant preparations are more restricted than rosemary extract in most Western markets and their acceptability should be confirmed for the specific market and food category before use.
Manufacturing Process
Dried licorice root is washed, chipped and milled, then extracted with hot water or aqueous ethanol. Water extraction favours the saponin fraction, while ethanol at 60 to 80 percent recovers the flavonoids that carry the antioxidant activity, so the solvent is chosen according to which preparation is being made. Spent root is pressed and the extract liquor filtered.
The extract is clarified and then enriched on macroporous adsorbent resin, with water washing to strip sugars and salts and aqueous ethanol elution to recover the target fraction. For flavonoid concentrates the eluate may be partitioned against an ester solvent or passed over carbon to strip colour, then concentrated under vacuum with solvent recovery. The concentrate is standardised to the declared marker level and either spray dried, with carrier added for lower assays, or blended into oil or glycol for the liquid grades. Powders are milled, sieved and blended before packing.
