Ligusticum (lovage,[2]: 824  licorice root[3]) is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae,[4] native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

[7] Another change C. anthriscoides ← L. sinense was made in 2015, as the C. sinomedicum name assigned in 2003 was illegitimate.<[8] The roots of several species are used as medicinal herbs.

L. sinense (in older literature L. wallichi or L. chuanxiong) is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in Chinese herbology, where it is called chuānxiōng (川芎); in English, Szechwan lovage.

[10] Chinese Ligusticum root contains alkaloids that have been shown in studies to inhibit TNF-alpha production and TNF-alpha-mediated NF-kappaB activation.

[citation needed] Both Ligusticum sinense and L. jeholens essential oils contain natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.