Glycyrrhiza glabra - Licorice

Glycyrrhiza glabra L.

FLAVONOIDS, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, CORTISONE-LIKE, EXPECTORANT

Licorice root, whose name means "sweet root," is somewhat like the old sage among medicinal plants, known as a true medicine as early as 500 B.C. in both Europe and the East, it is still used today and believed to be effective in the treatment of peptic ulcers, gastritis, constipation and coughs. It also possesses adaptogenic characteristics and its glycyrrhetinic acid is responsible for medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties similar to hydrocortisone and corticosteroids, without inhibiting prostaglandins but rather prostaglandins to the inflammatory site.

Licorice root contains several useful compounds such as saponins, flavonoids, isoflavones and coumarins. Licorice soothes inflamed and irritated tissues. Licorice can also help relieve inflammation of the throat and vocal cords and the gastrointestinal tract in general. In particular, licorice extracts manifest the unique property of having mutually enhancing components in reducing gastric acid secretion by direct action at the cellular level but without inhibiting the release of gastrin.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

F.-S. Chueh, Y.-T. Hsiao, S.-J. Chang et al, "Glycyrrhizic acid induces apoptosis in WEHI-3 mouse leukemia cells through the caspase- and mitochondria-dependent pathways," Oncology Reports, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 2069-2076, 2012. 

 Veratti, T. Rossi, S. Giudice et al, "18β-glycyrrhetinic acid and glabridin prevent oxidative DNA fragmentation in UVB-irradiated human keratinocyte cultures," Anticancer Research, vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 2209-2215, 2011.

Vaya, P. A. Belinky, and M. Aviram, "Antioxidant constituents from licorice roots: isolation, structure elucidation and antioxidative capacity toward LDL oxidation," Free Radical Biology and Medicine, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 302-313, 1997

 F.Capasso et al, J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 35,332(1983)

Hakanson et al, Experientia 29, 570 (1973)