The Leguminosae is an economically important family in the Dicotyledonae with many cultivated species, e. g. , beans and peas. The family also contains many well-known medicinal plants. It is composed of 17,000 or more species that constitute nearly one twelfth of the world's flowering plants (1). Traditionally the family has been divided into three subfamilies, Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae and Papilionoi- deae, which are sometimes recognized as separate families Caesalpinia- ceae, Mimosaceae and Papilionaceae. The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature permits alternative nomenclatures, the family names being replaced by Fabaceae, Fabales and Faboideae, and this usage will be common (2). Licorice (liquorice, kanzoh in Japanese, gancao in Chinese) is the name applied to the roots and stolons of some Glycyrrhiza species (Fabaceae) and has been used by human beings for at least 4000 years. The earliest written reference to the use of licorice is contained in the Codex Hammurabi dating from 2100 B. C. , and the subsequent history in the West has been described in the earlier reviews (3-6). In the Far East, references to the effectiveness of licorice are contained in the "Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing", the first Chinese dispensatory whose original anonymous volumes probably appeared by the end of the third century (7, 8).

The Leguminosae is an economically important family in the Dicotyledonae with many cultivated species, e. g. , beans and peas. The family also contains many well-known medicinal plants. It is composed of 17,000 or more species that constitute nearly one twelfth of the world's flowering plants (1). Traditionally the family has been divided into three subfamilies, Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae and Papilionoi- deae, which are sometimes recognized as separate families Caesalpinia- ceae, Mimosaceae and Papilionaceae. The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature permits alternative nomenclatures, the family names being replaced by Fabaceae, Fabales and Faboideae, and this usage will be common (2). Licorice (liquorice, kanzoh in Japanese, gancao in Chinese) is the name applied to the roots and stolons of some Glycyrrhiza species (Fabaceae) and has been used by human beings for at least 4000 years. The earliest written reference to the use of licorice is contained in the Codex Hammurabi dating from 2100 B. C. , and the subsequent history in the West has been described in the earlier reviews (3-6). In the Far East, references to the effectiveness of licorice are contained in the "Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing", the first Chinese dispensatory whose original anonymous volumes probably appeared by the end of the third century (7, 8).

The volumes in this classic series, now referred to simply as "Zechmeister" after its founder, L. Zechmeister, have appeared under the Springer Imprint ever since the series' inauguration in 1938. The volumes contain contributions on various topics related to the origin, distribution, chemistry, synthesis, biochemistry, function or use of various classes of naturally occuring substances ranging from small molecules to biopolymers. Each contribution is written by a recognized authority in this field and provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the topic in question. Addressed to biologists, technologists and chemists alike, the series can be used by the expert as a source of information and literature citations and by the non-expert as a means of orientation in a rapidly developing discipline.