Plantiac liquids that can be obtained from the roots of the liquorice plant ("Glycyrrhiza glabra", Dutch "zoethoutwortel"). Whereas so-called eau-de-vie (or other grape-based extracts) is sometimes used during the production of Dutch Brandy, this does not happen when Plantiac is made. It contains 35% alcohol. The brown colour of Plantiac is obtained using caramel. It is not certain when Plantiac was first made. Although advertisements insist on a 100-year anniversary in 1970 this is not true. Plantiac was first produced as Plantinga Cognac by the Plantinga distillery in Bolsward, Netherlands, most likely in the 1930s or 1940s. The 100-year anniversary seems
Glycyrrhizin glycyrrhizin is first hydrolysed to 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (enoxolone) by intestinal bacteria. After complete absorption from the gut, 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid is metabolised to 3β-monoglucuronyl-18β-glycyrrhetinic acid in the liver. This metabolite then circulates in the bloodstream. Consequently, its oral bioavailability is poor. The main part is eliminated by bile and only a minor part (0.31–0.67%) by urine. After oral ingestion of 600 mg of glycyrrhizin the metabolite appeared in urine after 1.5 to 14 hours. Maximal concentrations (0.49 to 2.69 mg/l) were achieved after 1.5 to 39 hours and metabolite can be detected in the urine after 2 to 4 days. Glycyrrhizin