Home // Alcohol addiction

Licorice root is good for the liver

11/02/2018 // Ellaine Castillo // Views

Tags: Alcohol, alcohol diet, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, chronic alcohol consumption, chronic alcohol-induced liver disease, fatty liver, goodhealth, goodscience, Hepatoprotective, herbal medicine, herbal remedy, inflammation, licorice, liver disease, liver health, liver injury, oxidative stress, traditional medicine

Previous studies have shown that licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisher) root has antioxidant effects in tert-butyl hydroperoxide–induced oxidative liver damage. On this basis, a group of researchers wanted to assess the effects that the herb had on chronic alcohol-induced fatty liver. In this study, which was published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the researchers assessed the hepatoprotective effects of licorice on mice that were given a liquid alcohol diet for four weeks.

• Chronic alcohol consumption inflicts damage on the central nervous system and organs like the liver.
• The most common alcohol-induced liver disease is fatty liver, which is generally benign. However, oxidative stress and inflammation can cause fatty liver to progress to more severe liver diseases.
• In traditional medicine, licorice was commonly used for reducing weight gain, preventing inflammation, relieving pain, curing coughs and colds, and treating liver disease.
• Licorice has anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities, which can be attributed to the presence of bioactive compounds like liquiritins, liquiritigenin, glycyrrhizic acids, and flavones.
• Previous studies have shown the hepatoprotective effects of licorice. However, these were only observed in chemical-induced liver injury models that aren't relevant to clinical situations.
• In this study, the researchers evaluated the effects of licorice on inflammation and oxidative stress experienced by mice with chronic alcohol-induced fatty liver injury.
• The researchers also determined the phytochemicals present in licorice extracts.

The results of the experiment showed that licorice has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities that make it an effective hepatoprotective agent against alcohol-induced liver injury.

Read the full text of the study at this link.

Learn more natural remedies for liver health by visiting NaturalHealth.news today.

Journal Reference:

Jung JC, Lee YH, Kim SH, Kim KJ, Kim KM, Oh S, Jung YS. HEPATOPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF LICORICE, THE ROOT OF GLYCYRRHIZA URALENSIS FISCHER, IN ALCOHOL-INDUCED FATTY LIVER DISEASE. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 22 January 2016;16(19). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-016-0997-0

---

---