Efficacy of Whole Extract of Licorice in Neurological Improvement of Patients After Acute Ischemic Stroke

Summary

Stroke is one of the most important causes of mortality and disability both in developed and developing countries. The only food and drug administration (FDA) approved therapy for acute stroke is recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA). But narrow therapeutic window has limited the usefulness of thrombolytic therapy. Therefore, finding effective neuroprotective drugs for the patients for whom thrombolysis is contraindicated or not feasible seemed to be mandatory in the world of cerebrovascular medicine. Licorice, extracted from root of a plant scientifically known as Glycyrrhiza glabra, is used in food industries. Certain medical properties has been contributed to licorice and specifically to its active chemical components such as flavonoids and glycyrrhizic acid (GA). GA has been revealed to assert its anti-inflammatory effect by suppression of NF-κB, a key component of lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response. Neuroprotective characteristics of GA has been widely investigated in recent studies. In the present study, the investigators verified the efficacy and safety of oral administration of two different doses licorice extract in the patients with acute ischemic stroke, in a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Timeline

Start

2012-06

Primary completion

2013-06

Completion

2014-06

Publications

• Background Hinkle JL, Guanci MM. Acute ischemic stroke review. J Neurosci Nurs. 2007 Oct;39(5):285-93, 310. doi: 10.1097/01376517-200710000-00005.
• Background Go AS, Mozaffarian D, Roger VL, Benjamin EJ, Berry JD, Borden WB, Bravata DM, Dai S, Ford ES, Fox CS, Franco S, Fullerton HJ, Gillespie C, Hailpern SM, Heit JA, Howard VJ, Huffman MD, Kissela BM, Kittner SJ, Lackland DT, Lichtman JH, Lisabeth LD, Magid D, Marcus GM, Marelli A, Matchar DB, McGuire DK, Mohler ER, Moy CS, Mussolino ME, Nichol G, Paynter NP, Schreiner PJ, Sorlie PD, Stein J, Turan TN, Virani SS, Wong ND, Woo D, Turner MB; American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics--2013 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2013 Jan 1;127(1):e6-e245. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0b013e31828124ad. Epub 2012 Dec 12. No abstract available.
• Background Granitto M, Galitz D. Update on stroke: the latest guidelines. Nurse Pract. 2008 Jan;33(1):39-46; quiz 47. doi: 10.1097/01.NPR.0000305977.24952.1c. No abstract available.
• Background Ramos-Cabrer P, Campos F, Sobrino T, Castillo J. Targeting the ischemic penumbra. Stroke. 2011 Jan;42(1 Suppl):S7-11. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.596684. Epub 2010 Dec 16.
• Background Hwang IK, Lim SS, Choi KH, Yoo KY, Shin HK, Kim EJ, Yoon-Park JH, Kang TC, Kim YS, Kwon DY, Kim DW, Moon WK, Won MH. Neuroprotective effects of roasted licorice, not raw form, on neuronal injury in gerbil hippocampus after transient forebrain ischemia. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2006 Aug;27(8):959-65. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7254.2006.00346.x.

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