源自甘草的物质可能具有抗炎和抗癌作用

诸平

Licorice root and black licorice candy. A licorice-derived substance may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.

甘草作为一味中药，具有补脾益气，清热解毒，祛痰止咳，缓急止痛，调和诸药之功效。常用于脾胃虚弱，倦怠乏力，心悸气短，咳嗽痰多，脘腹、四肢挛急疼痛，痈肿疮毒，缓解药物毒性、烈性。但是，据美国伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校（University Of Illinois At Chicago） 2022年4月17日提供的消息，源自甘草的物质可能具有抗炎和抗癌作用（Substance Derived From Licorice May Have Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Cancer Effects）。上述图片是甘草根和黑甘草糖。甘草衍生物质可能具有抗炎和抗癌作用。

研究人员将甘草用于有希望的癌症治疗（Researchers look to licorice for promising cancer treatments）。

伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校的研究人员称，甘草不仅仅是一种让人既爱又恨的糖果——它可能在预防或治疗某些类型的癌症方面发挥作用。

Gnanasekar Munirathinam和他的研究小组正在研究从甘草植物（Glycyrrhiza glabra）中提取的物质，以确定它们是否可用于预防或阻止前列腺癌的生长。Gnanasekar Munirathinam是罗克福德医学院（College of Medicine Rockford）生物医学科学系的副教授。

Gnanasekar Munirathinam博士和学生研究人员对甘草衍生物质甘草甜素（glycyrrhizin）用于预防或治疗癌症的分子见解进行了一项研究回顾，表明进一步的研究可能会导致临床使用的特定药物。相关研究结果于2022年2月19日已经在《药理学研究》（Pharmacological Research）杂志网站发表,印刷版发表在2022年4月出版的一期中——Rifika Jain, Mohamed Ali Hussein, Shannon Pierce, Chad Martens, Preksha Shahagadkar and Gnanasekar Munirathinam. Oncopreventive and oncotherapeutic potential of licorice triterpenoid compound glycyrrhizin and its derivatives: Molecular insights. Pharmacological Research,  2022 Apr; 178: 106138. DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106138. Epub 2022 Feb 19. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35192957/

Gnanasekar Munirathinam说：“当我们查看那里的研究和我们自己的数据时，似乎甘草甜素及其衍生物甘草次酸具有作为抗炎和抗癌剂的巨大潜力。需要更多的研究来确定如何最好地将这些用于开发疗法，但这似乎是癌症研究的一个有前途的领域。”

每个人都应该出去吃一堆甘草吗？可能不会，因为过度使用它可能会影响血压，与某些药物相互作用，并导致严重的副作用，包括死亡。在更多的研究可以证明如何最好地利用这种植物的益处之前，偶尔吃点甘草糖或甘草茶可能是更好的选择。

Gnanasekar Munirathinam说：“在人类身上进行的临床试验很少。我们希望我们对前列腺癌细胞的研究将科学推进到可以转化疗法，以帮助预防甚至治愈前列腺癌和其他类型癌症的程度。”

该研究得到了美国国立卫生研究院(National Institutes of Health，R0CA227218) 和 Brovember Inc.的部分支持。

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Abstract

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is a well-known natural herb used to treat different ailments since ancient times. Glycyrrhizin (GL), which is the primary triterpenoid compound of licorice extract, has been known to have broad-spectrum pharmacological effects. GL is cleaved into glucuronide and the aglycone, glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), which exists in two stereoisomeric forms: 18α- and 18β-GA. It is well documented that GL and GA have great potential as anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, and hepatoprotective agents. Studies undertaken during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic suggest that GL is effective at inhibiting the viral replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The anticancer effects of GL and GA involve modulating various signaling pathways, such as the phosphatase and tensin homolog/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B pathway, the mitogen-activated protein kinase, and the mammalian target of rapamycin/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, which are mainly involved in regulating cancer cell death, oxidative stress, and inflammation. The potential of GL and GA in preventing cancer development and suppressing the growth and invasion of different cancer types has been reviewed in this paper. This review also provides molecular insights on the mechanism of action for the oncopreventive and oncotherapeutic effects of GL and its derivative, GA, which could help develop more specific forms of these agents for clinical use.