A study by Wang, Hao, & Chi (85) investigated the effect of
glycyrrhizin on LPS-induced endometriosis.
The active component of licorice,
glycyrrhizin, is a known bioenhancer, intensifying the cell-division inhibitory activity of Taxol by 5-fold, thereby hindering the growth and multiplication of the MCF-7 cancer cell line (4); the inhibition of cancer cell growth using Taxol was found to be greater when used in conjunction with
glycyrrhizin than it was when Taxol was used alone.
Without liquorice extract, it has no
glycyrrhizin, and without
glycyrrhizin, it doesn't pose any health risks (beyond a horrible sugar overdose).
Ephedrine, methyl gallate, catechin, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, benzoic acid, liquiritin, liquiritin apioside, 1,2,3,4,6-pentagalloyl glucose (PGG), cinnamic acid,
glycyrrhizin, schisandrin, and 6-shogaol were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Co.
Hazlett, "
Glycyrrhizin reduces HMGB1 and bacterial load in Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis," Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, vol.
Burdock, "Risk and safety assessment on the consumption of licorice root (Glycyrrhiza sp.), its extract and powder as a food ingredient, with emphasis on the pharmacology and toxicology of
glycyrrhizin," Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, vol.
Glycyrrhizin, a component of Chinese medicine licorice root, has the ability to inhibit the functions of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1).
Murashima et al., "The long term efficacy of
glycyrrhizin in chronic hepatitis C patients," Cancer, vol.
After treatments of compound
glycyrrhizin for liver protection, sunscreen, and alcohol discontinuation for 3 months, there was obvious improvement on the patient's skin lesions.
(60) Two years later, a second group of researchers found that the licorice constituent
glycyrrhizin "might offer protection from the damage induced in humans by UVB radiation." (61)
Glycyrrhizin protects mice against renal ischemia-reperfusion injury through inhibition of apoptosis and inflammation by downregulating p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling.
Fushiki, "Antidiabetic effect of
glycyrrhizin in genetically diabetic KK-Ay mice," Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, vol.