Yang Rui, Wang Li-qiang, Yuan Bo-chuan, Liu Ying
School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Planta Med. 2015 Dec;81(18):1654-69. doi: 10.1055/s-0035-1557893. Epub 2015 Sep 14.
Licorice is one of the oldest and most frequently used herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. It contains more than 20 triterpenoids and 300 flavonoids. In recent years, a lot of studies have reported that the active compounds isolated from licorice possess antitumor, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and several other activities that contribute to the recovery and protection of the nervous, alimentary, respiratory, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems. In this paper, nine different pharmacological activities of licorice are summarized. The active compounds responsible for these pharmacological activities, the molecular mechanisms, and in vivo and in vitro studies are listed in detail. Furthermore, the clinical therapeutics and toxicity studies of licorice are also discussed. We hope this work can provide a basis for further studies concerning with the safe and effective use of licorice.
甘草是传统中药中最古老且使用最频繁的草药之一。它含有20多种三萜类化合物和300多种黄酮类化合物。近年来，许多研究报告称，从甘草中分离出的活性化合物具有抗肿瘤、抗菌、抗病毒、抗炎、免疫调节以及其他多种活性，有助于神经、消化、呼吸、内分泌和心血管系统的恢复与保护。本文总结了甘草的九种不同药理活性。详细列出了负责这些药理活性的活性化合物、分子机制以及体内和体外研究。此外，还讨论了甘草的临床治疗和毒性研究。我们希望这项工作能为进一步研究甘草的安全有效使用提供依据。
