Department of Medicine and Science of Aging, University "G. D'Annunzio", Chieti 66100, Italy.
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2019;19(8):647-656. doi: 10.2174/1389557518666180601095420.
Medicinal plants and their natural bioactive molecules, are evaluated as the foundation for health preservation and care of humanity. The licorice root, known as "Radix Glycyrrhizae", is a perennial plant that comes from Mediterranean countries, central to southern Russia, Asia, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. The licorice root has been used in traditional Chinese medicines for centuries and has been defined as "the progenitor of herbs". The name 'Licorice' is derived from the ancient Greek word Glukurrhiza, meaning 'sweet root'. It consists of approximately 30 species, however, the most common ones consist of Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch and Glycyrrhiza Inflata. In addition, the licorice root contains chalcones, which are a part of an important class of natural products and are precursors of flavonoids. Chemically, chalcones are composed of two aromatic rings associated with α, β-unsaturated α-carbon ketone, representing the prima nucleus of the structure. They have been classified, according to chemical structures, in Licochalcone A, B, C, D, E, F and G. This review aims to highlight all the in vitro and in vivo studies that have been conducted on the licochalcones, extracted from Glycyrrhiza species. The main effects are as follows: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiallergic, antidiabetic, hepatotoxic and osteogenic. It is important to implement the introduction of biologically active natural molecules from the bench (research) to the bedside (clinical practice). However, in the future, it is required to conduct additional studies to validate these biological effects.
药用植物及其天然生物活性分子被评估为人类健康保护和保健的基础。甘草根，又称“甘草根”，是一种多年生植物，来自地中海国家、俄罗斯中南部、亚洲、土耳其、伊拉克和伊朗。甘草根在中国传统医学中已经使用了几个世纪，并被定义为“草药之祖”。“甘草”这个名字来源于古希腊单词 Glukurrhiza，意思是“甜根”。它由大约 30 个物种组成，但最常见的是甘草、乌拉尔甘草和胀果甘草。此外，甘草根含有查耳酮，它是一类重要的天然产物的一部分，也是类黄酮的前体。从化学上讲，查耳酮由两个与 α，β-不饱和 α-碳酮相关的芳环组成，代表结构的原始核。根据化学结构，它们被分类为甘草查尔酮 A、B、C、D、E、F 和 G。本综述旨在强调从 Glycyrrhiza 属植物中提取的所有关于甘草查耳酮的体外和体内研究。主要作用如下：抗炎、抗氧化、抗癌、抗菌、抗病毒、抗过敏、抗糖尿病、肝毒性和成骨作用。将具有生物活性的天然分子从实验室（研究）引入临床实践（临床实践）非常重要。然而，未来需要进行更多的研究来验证这些生物学效应。
