Application of Liquid Particle Extraction to the Purification of Glycyrrhizin

Glycyrrhizin on the market (about 90% in purity) contains two major impurities which are difficult to remove by recrystallization. Purification of a commercial sample was carried out by a dual-flow countercurrent extraction method, liquid particle extraction, which was recently introduced. Starting from 72.6 mg of commercial glycyrrhizin, it was purified to a purity of 99.7% with a recovery of 53.9% (35.3 mg).