A new prenylated 3-hydroxypyranoflavanone, kanzonol Z, was isolated from cultivated licorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra, and the structure elucidated from spectral evidence. The stereochemical structure of kanzonol Y previously isolated from the licorice has been shown to be (alpha R)-3,5'-diprenyl-alpha,2',4,4'-tetra-hydroxydihydrochalcone by Mosher's method. In a prescreening test for bioactive compounds amongst licorice phenols using a recombinationless mutant of Bacillus subtilis M45, seven compounds showed induction activities of DNA damage. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved