A Review: The Anti-inflammatory, Anticancer and Antibacterial Properties of Four Kinds of Licorice Flavonoids Isolated from Licorice

Abstract

: Plants have always been an important source of medicines for humans, and licorice is a very significant herb in the development of humans. As a traditional herb, it is widely cultivated in China, Japan, Russia, Spain and India. With the development of organic chemistry and biochemistry, various chemical ingredients extracted from licorice have been studied and identified. Among them, many chemical components were considered to have strong pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, antibacterial, anticancer and so on. Based on those reports, licorice has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years, and they are devoted to discovering the active ingredients and mechanism of action of active compounds. Licorice flavonoids are one of the main extracts of licorice root and stem and have many potential biological properties. This paper aims to summarize the four kinds of licorice flavonoids, including liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin, licochalcone (including licochalcone A and licochalcone B) and glabridin, about their biological activities of anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial.

Isoliquiritigenin Pretreatment Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Mediated Hormesis and Attenuates Cisplatin-Induced Oxidative Stress and Damage in LLC-PK1 Cells

“…IsoLQ is a flavonoid with anti-inflammatory, antitumoral, and antioxidant properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 16 , 59 ] that exerts protective effects in liver and kidney cells [ 3 , 4 , 9 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. In addition, it has been demonstrated that IsoLQ does not interfere with CP antineoplastic activity [ 16 ].…”

“…Regarding its antioxidant activity, it has been reported that IsoLQ scavenges reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as the superoxide anion (O 2 ●− ), hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide, and singlet oxygen [ 4 , 7 ], and induces phase II cytoprotective enzymes’ expression [ 9 , 10 ]. In addition, IsoLQ has been used as an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress inducer in cancer cell lines to induce apoptosis [ 8 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ] and also has cytoprotective effects in non-cancer cells, such as liver and kidney cells [ 1 , 4 , 9 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

Exploration of the hepatoprotective effect and mechanism of magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate in mice with arsenic trioxide‑induced acute liver injury

“…Licorice is an herbal medicine and natural sweetener that is widely used in China and contains numerous active ingredients; its extracts exhibit anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-oxidant activity (56). MgIG is a 4th-generation glycyrrhizic acid agent extracted from licorice by alkali isomerization catalysis; it is currently used as a liver-protecting agent in clinical treatment (57).…”

Epicatechin Reduces Spatial Memory Deficit Caused by Amyloid-β25–35 Toxicity Modifying the Heat Shock Proteins in the CA1 Region in the Hippocampus of Rats

“…Catechins are a group of polyphenolic compounds belonging to the flavonoid class, present in high concentrations in a variety of plant-based fruits, vegetables, and beverages [25,26,27]. Particularly, EC shows protection against dementia, as well as diseases in which oxidative stress seems to be highly prevalent [13].…”