Glycyrin, one of the main PPAR-gamma ligands of licorice, can significantly decrease the blood glucose levels of genetically diabetic KK-A(y) mice.

In this study, extracts of G. uralensis roots and their components were examined for anti-HCV activity using an HCV cell culture system. It was found that a methanol extract of G. uralensis roots and its chloroform fraction possess anti-HCV activity with 50%-inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)) of 20.0 and 8.0 μg/mL, respectively. Through bioactivity-guided purification and structural analysis, glycycoumarin, Glycyrin, glycyrol and liquiritigenin were isolated and identified as anti-HCV compounds, their IC(50) being 8.8, 7.2, 4.6 and 16.4 μg/mL, respectively. However, glycyrrhizin, the major constituent of G. uralensis, and its monoammonium salt, showed only marginal anti-HCV activity. It was also found that licochalcone A and glabridin, known to be exclusive constituents of G. inflata and G. glabra, respectively, did have anti-HCV activity, their IC(50) being 2.5 and 6.2 μg/mL, respectively. Another chalcone, isoliquiritigenin, also showed anti-HCV activity, with an IC(50) of 3.7 μg/mL. Time-of-addition analysis revealed that all Glycyrrhiza-derived anti-HCV compounds tested in this study act at the post-entry step[1]