Phytochemical and Pharmacological Role of Liquiritigenin and Isoliquiritigenin From Radix Glycyrrhizae in Human Health and Disease Models

Abstract

The increasing lifespan in developed countries results in age-associated chronic diseases. Biological aging is a complex process associated with accumulated cellular damage by environmental or genetic factors with increasing age. Aging results in marked changes in brain structure and function. Age-related neurodegenerative diseases and disorders (NDDs) represent an ever-growing socioeconomic challenge and lead to an overall reduction in quality of life around the world. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are most common degenerative neurological disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) in aging process. The low levels of acetylcholine and dopamine are major neuropathological feature of NDDs in addition to oxidative stress, intracellular calcium ion imbalance, mitochondrial dysfunction, ubiquitin-proteasome system impairment and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Current treatments minimally influence these diseases and are ineffective in curing the multifunctional pathological mechanisms. Synthetic neuroprotective agents sometimes have negative reactions as an adverse effect in humans. Recently, numerous ethnobotanical studies have reported that herbal medicines for the treatment or prevention of NDDs are significantly better than synthetic drug treatment. Medicinal herbs have traditionally been used around the world for centuries. Radix Glycyrrhizae (RG) is the dried roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza uralensis or G. glabra or G. inflata from the Leguminosae/Fabaceae family. It has been used for centuries in traditional medicine as a life enhancer, for the treatment of coughs and influenza, and for detoxification. Diverse chemical constituents from RG have reported including flavanones, chalcones, triterpenoid saponins, coumarines, and other glycosides. Among them, flavanone liquiritigenin (LG) and its precursor and isomer chalcone isoliquiritigenin (ILG) are the main bioactive constituents of RG. In the present review, we summarize evidence in the literature on the structure and phytochemical properties and pharmacological applications of LG and ILG in age-related diseases to establish new therapeutics to improve human health and lifespan.

Dietary Compound Isoliquiritigenin, an Antioxidant from Licorice, Suppresses Triple-Negative Breast Tumor Growth via Apoptotic Death Program Activation in Cell and Xenograft Animal Models

“…Numerous natural dietary phytochemicals have been observed to inhibit carcinogenesis and have attracted growing interest as complementary and alternative medicines as well as for cancer chemoprevention due to their wide availability, mildness, and low toxicity [11]. Glycyrrhiza species (licorice) are widely used as herbal medicine in Asia, as they exhibit highly effective antitussive, expectorant, and antipyretic activities [12,13]. Among the bioactive ingredients isolated from licorice, isoliquiritigenin (ISL; 2 ,4,4 -trihydroxychalcone) has been reported to exert considerable biological activities.…”

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

“…The flavonoid 4,2′,4′-trihydroxichalcone, also known as isoliquiritigenin (IsoLQ) ( Figure 1 ), proceeds from the roots and rhizomes of licorice ( Glycyrrizha glabra ). It is used in Asia as an herbal medicine due to its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antitumoral, and antioxidant properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. 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 ].…”

Comprehensive investigation of mechanism and effective ingredients of Fangji Huangqi Tang by serum pharmacochemistry and network pharmacology

“…MS/MS fragmentation in the negative ion mode revealed fragment ions at m/z 417.1189, 255.0660, 135.0078 and 119.0494. Based on CD software prediction and related literature (Ramalingam, Kim, Lee, & Lee, ), M13 and M14 were identified as glucuronidated products of liquiritin and isoliquiritin, respectively.…”