Licorice may kill SARS and other dangerous viruses

by Stepy — February 21, 2016

Licorice root has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties. It is most well known as a flavor in a popular type of candy. Less well known are its potent health benefits.

Licorice contains a compound called glycyrrhizin, which is responsible for many of the benefits of licorice. Research from the past and the present shows that licorice may kill SARS and other dangerous viruses.

A study published in 2003 in the journal received very little coverage, but showed that glycyrrhizin had potential to kill the deadly SARS virus.

As written in the German study:

“The

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outbreak of SARS warrants the search for antiviral compounds to treat the disease. At present time, no specific treatment has been identified for SARS-associated coronavirus infection…We assessed the antiviral potential of ribavirin, 6-azauridine, pyrazofurin, mycophenolic acid, and glycyrrhizin against two clinical isolates of coronavirus (FFM-1 and FFM-2) from patients with SARS admitted to the clinical centre of Frankfurt University, Germany. Of all the compounds, glycyrrhizin was the most active in inhibiting replication of the SARS-associated virus. Our findings suggest that glycyrrhizin should be assessed for treatment of SARS.”

The benefits of licorice don’t just stop at SARS viruses. It has also shown promise against influenza, also known as the flu.

A study from back in 1997 showed that glycyrrhizin reduced mortality in mice when they were given a dose of the influenza virus.

As written in the study abstract:

“When mice that had been exposed to 10 50% lethal doses of the virus were treated intraperitoneally with 10 mg of GR per kg of body weight 1 day before infection and 1 and 4 days postinfection, all of the mice survived over the 21-day experimental period. At the end of this period, the mean survival time (in days) for control mice treated with saline was 10.5 days, and there were no survivors. The grade of pulmonary consolidations and the virus titers in the lung tissues of infected mice treated with GR were significantly lower than those in the lung tissues of infected mice treated with saline.”

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REFERENCES:
1. “Licorice Shown To Kill SARS And Other Lethal Viruses.” GreenMedInfo.com. GreenMedInfo.com, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
2. “Glycyrrhizin, an Active Component of Liquorice Roots, and Replication of SARS-associated Coronavirus.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
3. “Glycyrrhizin, an Active Component of Licorice Roots, Reduces Morbidity and Mortality of Mice Infected with Lethal Doses of Influenza Virus.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.