Anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial activities of Glycyrrhiza glabra L

Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (family-Fabaceae-Leguminosae) is one of the important medicinal plant, commonly called as ‘liquorice’. The main ingredient of liquorice is ‘glycyrrhizin’. The present experiment was focused on the anti-inflammatory activity of hydro alcoholic extract of G. glabra (HAEGG) root against carrageenan induced rat paw oedema at dose levels of 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg orally. The HAEGG showed a maximum of 46.86% inhibitory action on carrageenan induced paw oedema at the dose of 200 mg/kg and inhibited the leukocyte migration in a dose dependent manner. The anti-inflammatory activity was comparable to the standard non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin (10mg/kg). The anti-bacterial activities of the methanol, ethyl acetate, acetone and chloroform extracts of G. glabra plant roots were tested against six bacterial species viz., Bacillus coagulans, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium by the agar disc diffusion method. The results indicated that the extract of G. glabra showed various antibacterial activities (9-14mm/20μl inhibition zone) against the bacterial organisms tested. The methanol, ethyl acetate, acetone and chloroform extracts did not inhibit Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus but showed the inhibition effect against B. coagulans, E. coli and S. typhimurium. Glycyrrhiza glabra has significant anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial activity with potential constituents targeting different components of inflammatory and anti-bacterial processes.