Glycyrrhizin, an active component of licorice roots, is superior to antiviral drugs in inhibiting SARS-associated coronavirus. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Glycyrrhizin, an active component of liquorice roots, and replication of SARS-associated coronavirus.
Lancet. 2003 Jun 14;361(9374):2045-6. PMID: 12814717
The outbreak of SARS warrants the search for antiviral compounds to treat the disease. At present, 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.