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Review
. 2021 Jul 9:12:707205.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.707205. eCollection 2021.

Glycyrrhizic Acid: A Natural Plant Ingredient as a Drug Candidate to Treat COVID-19

Zhong Sun  1 , Guozhong He  2 , Ninghao Huang  3   4 , Karuppiah Thilakavathy  1   5 , Jonathan Chee Woei Lim  6 , S Suresh Kumar  7 , Chenglong Xiong  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Glycyrrhizic Acid: A Natural Plant Ingredient as a Drug Candidate to Treat COVID-19

Zhong Sun et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

The total number of cumulative cases and deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is still increasing worldwide. Although many countries have actively implemented vaccination strategies to curb the epidemic, there is no specific efficient therapeutic drug for this virus to effectively reduce deaths. Therefore, the underappreciated macromolecular compounds have become the spotlight of research. Furthermore, the medicinal compounds in plants that provide myriad possibilities to treat human diseases have become of utmost importance. Experience indicates that Traditional Chinese medicine effectively treats SARS and has been used for treating patients with COVID-19 in China. As one of the world's oldest herbal remedies, licorice is used for treating patients with all stages of COVID-19. Glycyrrhizic acid (GA), the main active compound in licorice, has been proven effective in killing the SARS virus. Meanwhile, as a natural plant molecule, GA can also directly target important protein structures of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2. In this review, we summarized the immune synergy of GA and its potential role in treating COVID-19 complications. Besides, we reviewed its anti-inflammatory effects on the immune system and its positive effects in cooperation with various drugs to fight against COVID-19 and its comorbidities. The purpose of this review is to elucidate and suggest that GA can be used as a potential drug during COVID-19 treatment.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; glycyrrhizic acid; glycyrrhizin; immune synergy; steroid metabolism.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The top 10 most frequently used herbs among the recommended Chinese medicine formulas for COVID-19 treatment.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Schematic diagram of the molecular mechanisms of GA in treating COVID-19. (1) GA promotes the proliferation of T cells and has Th1 cell immune adjuvant activity. (2) GA inhibits the production of IL-6 and the activation of NF-κB. (3) GA inhibits the activity of HMGB1 and the signal transduction of the HMGB1-TLR4 pathway. (4) GA induces the apoptosis of host cells latent with SARS-CoV-2. (5) GA stimulates macrophages to produce NO. (6) GA inhibits the inflammatory response induced by LPS. (7) GA prevents the invasion of SARS-CoV-2 by reducing the domain of lipid rafts.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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