In Brief Raw Licorice (生甘草) clears heat and detoxifies. Roasted Licorice (炙甘草) warms and tonifies. They are clinical opposites — not variations of the same medicine. Licorice appears in more classical formulas than any other herb because its harmonizing function is structural, not decorative. Glycyrrhizin’s effect on drug metabolism makes this pharmacologically real. Classical tonification […]