Abstract
Licorice has been used as a medicinal plant from 2.500 years. It shows a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory and immune regulatory actions. One of its most known effects is the induction of hypertension, and it can induce what appears to be pseudohyperaldosteronism, due to glycyrrhetinic acid, the main active component of the root. Glycyrrhetinic acid and metabolites block the 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 and also bind mineralocorticoid receptors directly, acting as agonists. However, other interesting therapeutic uses of licorice are linked to its anti-androgen and estrogen-like activity, especially in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in conjunction with spironolactone therapy. In this brief review, we report the main features and possible therapeutic uses of this ancient plant.
Highlights
Licorice is a perennial plant, native to Mediterranean area and Asia Minor, studied for a long time as for its several biological and endocrine properties
Pseudohyperaldosteronism can be due to prolonged intake of licorice roots, and of products flavored with licorice to ameliorate the taste, such as herbal products, candies, breath fresheners, tobacco, teas, and even laxatives [5]
We investigated the inflammatory effect of aldosterone using mononuclear leukocytes (MNL), which are the cells mainly involved in inflammation
Summary
Licorice is a perennial plant, native to Mediterranean area and Asia Minor, studied for a long time as for its several biological and endocrine properties. Licorice has several other clinical applications, due to its anti-androgen and estrogen-like activity (Figure 1), that are especially used in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in association with spironolactone, a mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) blocker. In this brief review, we report the features, mechanisms of endocrine actions and the possible therapeutic uses of licorice and its derivatives, focusing mainly on in vitro and in vivo studies in humans
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