Licorice is commonly used as a cure for digestive disorders and as a detoxification agent in East Asia. This study investigated the protective effect of licorice water extract against cadmium (CdCl(2), Cd)-induced liver toxicity in rats. To induce acute toxicity, Cd (4 mg/kg body weight) was dissolved in normal saline and intravenously (i.v.) injected into rats. The rats then received either a ...

BACKGROUND Our previous study suggested that licorice has anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated microglial cells and anti-oxidative activity in tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced oxidative liver damage. In this study, we evaluated the effect of licorice on chronic alcohol-induced fatty liver injury mediated by inflammation and oxidative stress. METHODS Raw licorice was ext...

Licorice ingestion, as well as mutations in the HSD11B2 gene, inhibits 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11βHSD2) enzyme activity, causing the syndrome of apparent mineral corticoid excess (AME). However, the combined effect of licorice ingestion and an HSD11B2 mutation has never been reported, until now. In this study, we demonstrated that licorice ingestion can produce overt hypertensi...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE Licorice has been shown to possess cancer chemopreventive effects. However, glycyrrhizin, a major component in licorice, was found to interfere with steroid metabolism and cause edema and hypertension. The roasting process of licorice modifies the chemical composition and converts glycyrrhizin to glycyrrhetinic acid. The purpose of this study was to examine the anti-carcino...

The roots and rhizomes of various species of the perennial herb licorice (Glycyrrhiza) are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of several diseases. In experimental and clinical studies, licorice has been shown to have several pharmacological properties including antiinflammatory, antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidative, antidiabetic, antiasthma, and anticancer activities as well as i...

BACKGROUND Glycyrrhiza (licorice) an herb, which has medicinal value and was used in ancient times as a remedy for a great diversity of ailments and sweetener. Roots of Glycyrrhiza contain a high concentration of saponin and glycyrrhizin, which are supposed to be sweetening agents. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of aqueous and alcoholic licorice root extract against Streptococ...

Licorice is one of the oldest and most frequently used herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. It contains more than 20 triterpenoids and 300 flavonoids. In recent years, a lot of studies have reported that the active compounds isolated from licorice possess antitumor, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and several other activities that contribute to the recovery and ...

Hypokalemic paralysis due to licorice consumption is extremely rare, with only 40 cases in the English literature describing paralysis secondary to exposure to licorice in candies, medications, chewing tobacco, and herbal preparations. We describe a patient who suffered life-threatening hypokalemic paralysis caused by consumption of licorice in the form of a tea sweetener superimposed on long-t...

Hyponatremia is one of the most common electrolyte disorders encountered in the elderly. We present the case of an 81-year-old man who developed hyponatremia due to isolated hypoaldosteronism occurring after licorice withdrawal. He had severe hypokalemia with hypertension and was diagnosed with pseudoaldosteronism. He had been taking a very small dose of licorice as a mouth refresher since his ...