General

Scientific Names: Glycyrrhiza glabra L.

Common Names: Guang Guo Gan Cao.

BOTANICAL:

来 源： 为豆科植物 光果甘草 Glycyrrhiza glabra L．的根及根茎。

植物特征： 多年生草本，高30～100cm，全株被白色短毛或腺毛。茎直立，稍带木质，小枝有棱角。羽状复叶互生，小叶7～17，卵形或宽卵形。总状花序腋生，花密集；花萼钟形，5裂；花冠蝶形，紫红色或蓝紫色。荚果褐色，弯曲成镰刀状。花期6～7月，果期7～9月。

生药材鉴定： 根及根茎质地较坚实，有的有分枝，外皮不粗糙，多灰棕色，皮孔细而不明显。

Pharmacology

化学成分: 主要成分與甘草相似。 根及根莖含三萜類化合物甘草甜素（ Glycyrrhizin ），主要為甘草酸（ Glycyrrhizic acid ）的鉀、鈣鹽，為乾草的甜味成分。甘草酸水解後產生二分子葡萄糖醛酸和一分子 18β －甘草次酸（ 18β － Glycyrrhetic acid ）。尚含 24 －羥基甘草次酸（ 24 － Hydroxyglycyzzhetec aced ）。甘草甜素含量在 5 ～ 11 ％，甘草次酸含量在 3 ～ 7 ％。甘草尚含黃酮類化合物，主要有甘草甙（ Liquiritin ）、甘草甙元（ Liquiritigenin ）、異甘草甙（ Iso-Liquiritin ）、新甘草甙（ Neo-Liquiritin ）異甘草甙元（ Iso-Liquiritigenin ）、新異甘草甙（ Neoisoliquiritin ）等。 還含去氧甘草次酸 Ⅰ 、 Ⅱ(Deoxyglycyrrhetic acid Ⅰ 、 Ⅱ) 、異甘草次酸（ Liquiritic acid ）及黃酮類化合物光果甘草甙（ Liquiritoside ）、光果甘草甙元（ Liquiritogenine ）、甘草查耳酮（ Licochalcone ） A.B 等。

Efficacy

Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), a flavonoid constituent in the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, is known to have vasorelaxant effect, antioxidant, anti-platelet, anti-tumor, anti-allergic, antiviral activities and estrogenic properties. However, there is no report on the effects of ISL in cerebral ischemia. Evidence demonstrate that the impaired energy metabolism and the excessive generation of reactive oxygen radicals (ROS) contribute to the brain injury associated with cerebral ischemia. In the present study, the protective effects of ISL were investigated in transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: sham-operated group, vehicle-pretreated group, and three ISL-pretreated groups (5, 10 and 20 mg kg(-1), i.g.). ISL were administered once a day, for 7 days prior to ischemia. The rats were subjected to 2 h right MCAO via the intraluminal filament technique and 22 h reperfusion. Pretreatment with ISL significantly reduced the cerebral infarct volume and edema and produced significant reduction in neurological deficits. In this study, in order to clarify the mechanism of ISL's protection against cerebral ischemia damage, cerebral energy metabolism, brain Na+K+ATPase activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and antioxidant enzyme activities were measured. ISL pretreatment increased the brain ATP content, energy charge (EC) and total adenine nucleotides (TAN) in a dose-dependent manner. The brain Na+K+ATPase activity was protected significantly by pretreatment of ISL for 7 days. Pretreatment with ISL significantly inhibited the increases of brain MDA content and prevented the activities of brain superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) from declines caused by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion. All these findings indicate that ISL has the protective potential against cerebral ischemia injury and its protective effects may be due to the amelioration of cerebral energy metabolism and its antioxidant property. (source)

Much of the interest on the chemopreventive properties of licorice has been focused on the plant genius Glycyrrhiza glabra. In this study the ethanol extract of Chinese licorice root, Glycyrrhiza uralensis (G. uralensis) was investigated for its estrogenic effect and the ability to inhibit cell proliferation in the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. The extract of the root of G. uralensis was fractionated in EtOH:H(2)O (80:20) (80% ethanol). The extract exhibited estrogenic effects similar to 17beta- estradiol (E2) and induced apoptosis at the same dose level (100 microg/ml) in MCF-7 breast cancer cells, results were associated with up-regulation of tumor suppressor gene p53 and pro-apoptotic protein Bax. G. uralensis extract caused the up-regulation of p21(waf1/cip1) and down-regulation of cdk 2 and cyclin E and most significantly, induced G1 cell cycle arrest. This is the first study to show that the ethanolic extract of the root of G. uralensis has an estrogen-like activity and anti-cancer effects against MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. (source)

IN VITRO:

1. Sheela ML, et al., Angiogenic and proliferative effects of the cytokine VEGF in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells is inhibited by Glycyrrhiza glabra. Int Immunopharmacol. 2006 Mar; 6(3):494-8. Epub 2005 Aug 15.
2. Jo EH, et al., Chemopreventive properties of the ethanol extract of chinese licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) root: induction of apoptosis and G1 cell cycle arrest in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Cancer Lett. 2005 Dec 18; 230(2):239-47.
3. Fu Y, et al., Licochalcone-A, a novel flavonoid isolated from licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra), causes G2 and late-G1 arrests in androgen-independent PC-3 prostate cancer cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2004 Sep 10; 322(1):263-70.
   
   
   
   

IN VIVO:

1. Zhang C, et al., Protective effects of isoliquiritigenin in transient middle cerebral artery occlusion-induced focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Pharmacol Res. 2006 Mar; 53(3):303-9. Epub 2006 Feb 3.
   

Safety

用药忌宜： 。