A major ingredient in licorice has proven remarkably successful at combatting the SARS virus in lab-dish tests, according to a German study reported on Saturday in the British weekly journal The Lancet.
Glycyrrhizin, a compound extracted from licorice roots which has been previously explored in anti-viral research, was highly effective at stopping the SARS virus from reproducing, the authors say.
It easily beat out four other standard compounds used to block virus or tumorous cell replication -- including ribavirin.
The research is only a preliminary study and much further work is needed, assessing safety as well as effectiveness, before anyone can call glycyrrhizin a cure for SARS.
Even so, the findings are so positive that it should be taken seriously as a potential weapon in the fight against this disease, says the team, led by Jindrich Cinatl from Frankfurt University Medical School.
The experiment involved taking samples of the SARS virus from two patients with SARS who had been admitted to the university's medical center.
The viruses were then used to infect Vero cells, a tissue culture of monkey kidney cells that are a standard item of lab equipment.
The dishes were exposed to each of the five compounds and examined 72 to 96 hours later to see how many infected cells had reproduced.
Ribavirin -- a drug widely used against SARS but which has had very disappointing results -- did nothing to stop the virus sample from replicating.
Pyrazofurin and 6-azauridine had low and modest effect respectively, but were outclassed by glycyrrhizin, which was more than five times more effective than those two compounds and at high concentrations completely blocked replication.
Glycyrrhizin gets its name from Glycyrrhiza glabra, the Latin sobriquet for the licorice plant, which homeopathic medicine has long claimed to be useful in tackling respiratory, urinary and digestive irritations and infections of the mouth and throat. Licorice is especially used in Chinese medicine.
The extract is derived from licorice roots and takes the form of a yellow powder with a bittersweet taste.
HOLLYWOOD IN TURMOIL: Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton and Cary Elwes lost properties to the flames, while awards events planned for this week have been delayed Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton, and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events, while at least five people have died. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week’s Oscar nominations have been delayed, while tens of thousands of city residents had been displaced and were awaiting word on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city’s most famous denizens. More than 1,900 structures had been destroyed and the number was expected to increase. More than 130,000 people
A group of Uyghur men who were detained in Thailand more than one decade ago said that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists and family members who say the men are at risk of abuse and torture if they are sent back. Forty-three Uyghur men held in Bangkok made a public appeal to halt what they called an imminent threat of deportation. “We could be imprisoned and we might even lose our lives,” the letter said. “We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries concerned with human rights to intervene immediately to save us from
Some things might go without saying, but just in case... Belgium’s food agency issued a public health warning as the festive season wrapped up on Tuesday: Do not eat your Christmas tree. The unusual message came after the city of Ghent, an environmentalist stronghold in the country’s East Flanders region, raised eyebrows by posting tips for recycling the conifers on the dinner table. Pointing with enthusiasm to examples from Scandinavia, the town Web site suggested needles could be stripped, blanched and dried — for use in making flavored butter, for instance. Asked what they thought of the idea, the reply
US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen on Monday met virtually with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) and raised concerns about “malicious cyber activity” carried out by Chinese state-sponsored actors, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement. The department last month reported that an unspecified number of its computers had been compromised by Chinese hackers in what it called a “major incident” following a breach at contractor BeyondTrust, which provides cybersecurity services. US Congressional aides said no date had been set yet for a requested briefing on the breach, the latest in a serious of cyberattacks
RSS