Glycyrrhizin and 18 beta-glycyrrhetinic acid: a comparative study of the pharmacological effects induced in the rat after prolonged oral treatment.

Recent clinical and toxicological studies have investigated the mineralcorticoid-like and hypertensive effects of liquorice, and we therefore set out to identify the active component responsible for these effects. We conducted a 30-day comparative analysis of glycyrrhizin and 18 beta-glycyrrhetinic acid and found that the latter causes significant variations both in systolic blood pressure and in the excretion in the urine of Ca++. The effects were fully reversible on suspension of treatment.