Licorice root for extraction
Extract makers buy licorice root as feedstock: what they take out of it, with water, is glycyrrhizic acid and the root's other soluble substances. Bogot Master supplies wild licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) from Khorezm, Uzbekistan, in two feedstock grades and as cut root, and works with an extraction partner, "Licorice Extract" LLC.
Who buys feedstock
- Makers of licorice extract, sold as liquid, paste or powder. The US food rule describes licorice extract as the part of the root extracted by boiling water after maceration, then sometimes purified (21 CFR 184.1408).
- Makers of glycyrrhizin products: ammoniated glycyrrhizin is made from the water extract of the root, by acid precipitation and neutralisation with dilute ammonia, and monoammonium glycyrrhizinate from that (the same rule).
- Makers of herbal extracts for medicines, which buy to a pharmacopoeia; see our pharmaceutical page.
Licorice extract from Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan was the largest exporter of licorice extract by value in 2024 among the 49 countries that had reported that year to UN Comtrade: USD 39.0 million for 8,656 tonnes, under HS code 1302.12. Iran and the United Arab Emirates had not reported their 2024 trade by 24 October 2026, and Turkmenistan does not report at all, so the ranking may change.
Feedstock grades
| Industrial grade | Extraction grade | |
|---|---|---|
| Root | Medium roots, 5–20 mm across | Thin roots, under 7 mm across |
| Cut | Pieces under 5 cm | Cut roughly into 2–5 cm pieces |
| Glycyrrhizic acid | At least 4 % | At least 3.5 % |
| Moisture | Not more than 12 % | Not more than 12 % |
| Processing | Washed by machine, steamed, cut by machine, dried, sieved | Not washed; dried in the open air, cut by machine, sieved |
| Packing | PP bags of 20, 21, 25 or 30 kg | PP bags of 20, 21, 25 or 30 kg |
The extraction grade's 3.5 % is below the 4.0 % minimum of the European Pharmacopoeia, so it is feedstock for extraction, not a pharmacopoeial herbal substance. It is the root our extraction partner processes, and we sell it for export on request.
Extraction-grade root can also travel uncut, pressed into cubes of about 110 kg, so that a truck carries more. Ask for it as "Press S".
Cut root for extraction
When a specification calls for washed root with at least 4 % glycyrrhizic acid, the cut root grades fit: tablets (A, 1.2, 12 mm and mixed sizes; see the grades) and crushed root. Tablets are cut straight across the root and are the cheaper cut for extraction. Sticks can also be pressed into bales of about 120 kg; see packing.
What to put in your specification
Extract makers usually set these points; send yours with your enquiry, and we quote against it:
- Glycyrrhizic acid per lot, with the method and the basis (dried or absolutely dry material): standards differ on both; see the comparison.
- Water-soluble extractives: how much of the root dissolves in water. We do not publish a figure; name it among the tests for the load's certificate of analysis, or test it on a sample.
- Moisture at loading.
- Packing: bags, or pressed bales and cubes.
- Supply programme: the tonnage over the year and how it is split into loads.
Free samples of 100–200 g per grade go to companies; you pay the FedEx shipping, or use your own FedEx account.
If your extract goes into food in the EU, it must meet the ochratoxin A limit of 80 µg/kg on the pure, undiluted extract. The regulation notes that 1 kg of extract is obtained from 3 to 4 kg of root; dried root itself has a limit of 20 µg/kg (Regulation (EU) 2023/915, Annex I, entry 1.2.19). Ochratoxin A is not part of the standard certificate of analysis, which covers glycyrrhizic acid, ash and moisture: name the test in your enquiry, and the laboratory adds it.
Volume and supply
All our root is wild, dug across Khorezm all year round, except a few days of extreme cold, under a permit from the National Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Ecology and Climate Change. We process and export more than 500 t of root a year. A load is 11 t in a 20 ft container, or 22 t in a 40 ft container or a tent truck; preparing a 22 t load takes about 30 days. Today we sell order by order. We welcome a yearly supply programme with loads on a schedule: predictable loads suit us too.
Every load comes with a certificate of analysis, a phytosanitary certificate, a certificate of origin and a fumigation certificate; see shipping and documents.
Extract from our partner
We do not make extract. "Licorice Extract" LLC, our extraction partner, does, and its licorice root extract, as powder or liquid, is supplied through us. It is a raw material for further purification, into glycyrrhizic acid and the root's other components, not an extract for direct use in food, cosmetics or medicines. Ask us for its specification.
For a quote, a sample or a supply programme, use the button below.
Sources
- United Nations, UN Comtrade, HS 1302.12 (saps and extracts of liquorice), exports in 2024 by reporting country, read on 24 October 2026.
- 21 CFR 184.1408, Licorice and licorice derivatives, paragraph (a) (edition of 1 April 2025).
- European Medicines Agency, Liquiritiae radix: the Ph. Eur. 0277 minimum of 4.0 % 18β-glycyrrhizic acid.
- Regulation (EU) 2023/915, Annex I, entry 1.2.19 (consolidated text of 19 August 2026).