ArticleSteroids2016
Licorice root components in dietary supplements are selective estrogen receptor modulators with a spectrum of estrogenic and anti-estrogenic activities.
Article in Steroids, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Plant-Derived Food Grade Substances (PDFGS) Active Against Respiratory Viruses: A Systematic Review of Non-clinical Studies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Therapeutic Targets and Molecular Mechanisms of Calycosin in the Treatment of Depression: Insights From Chronic Mild Stress Animal Models.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2025Article
- Targeted HPTLC Profile, Quantification of Flavonoids and Phenolic Acids, and Antimicrobial Activity ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Pharmacokinetic Interactions of a Licorice Dietary Supplement with Cytochrome P450 Enzymes in Female Participants.Drug metabolism and disposition: the biological fate of chemicals · 2023Article
- Article
- Isoliquiritigenin Decreases Bone Resorption and Osteoclast Differentiation.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2022Article
- Novel Evidence-Based Combination of Plant Extracts with Multitarget Mechanisms of Action for the Elimination of Hot Flashes during Menopause.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A review on mechanism of inhibition of advanced glycation end products formation by plant derived polyphenolic compounds.Molecular biology reports · 2021Review
- Is Our Natural Food Our Homeostasis? Array of a Thousand Effect-Directed Profiles of 68 Herbs and Spices.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
- Sirtuins transduce STACs signals through steroid hormone receptors.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Development of an Improved Menopausal Symptom-Alleviating Licorice (Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2020Article
- Quality evaluation of health foods containing licorice in the Japanese Market.Toxicology reports · 2019Article
- Licorice: From Pseudohyperaldosteronism to Therapeutic Uses.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2019Review
- Estrogen Receptor (ER) Subtype Selectivity Identifies 8-Prenylapigenin as an ERβ Agonist from Glycyrrhiza inflata and Highlights the Importance of Chemical and Biological Authentication.Journal of natural products · 2018Article
- The in vitro estrogenic activity of the crude drugs found in Japanese herbal medicines prescribed for menopausal syndrome was enhanced by combining them.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2018Article
- Combining Chemical Profiling and Network Analysis to Investigate the Pharmacology of Complex Prescriptions in Traditional Chinese Medicine.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Estrogen receptor-α and aryl hydrocarbon receptor involvement in the actions of botanical estrogens in target cells.Molecular and cellular endocrinology · 2016Article
- Effects of isoliquiritigenin on ovarian antral follicle growth and steroidogenesis.Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2016Article
- Botanicals and Their Bioactive Phytochemicals for Women's Health.Pharmacological reviews · 2016Review
- Estrogen Receptor β in Melanoma: From Molecular Insights to Potential Clinical Utility.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Licorice root extracts are often consumed as botanical dietary supplements by menopausal women as a natural alternative to pharmaceutical hormone replacement therapy. In addition to their components liquiritigenin (Liq) and isoliquiritigenin (Iso-Liq), known to have estrogenic activity, licorice root extracts also contain a number of other flavonoids, isoflavonoids, and chalcones. We have investigated the estrogenic activity of 7 of these components, obtained from an extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra powder, namely Glabridin (L1), Calycosin (L2), Methoxychalcone (L3), Vestitol (L4), Glyasperin C (L5), Glycycoumarin (L6), and Glicoricone (L7), and compared them with Liq, Iso-Liq, and estradiol (E2). All components, including Liq and Iso-Liq, have low binding affinity for estrogen receptors (ERs). Their potency and efficacy in stimulating the expression of estrogen-regulated genes reveal that Liq and Iso-Liq and L2, L3, L4, and L6 are estrogen agonists. Interestingly, L3 and L4 have an efficacy nearly equivalent to E2 but with a potency ca. 10,000-fold less. The other components, L1, L5 and L7, acted as partial estrogen antagonists. All agonist activities were reversed by the antiestrogen, ICI 182,780, or by knockdown of ERα with siRNA, indicating that they are ER dependent. In HepG2 hepatoma cells stably expressing ERα, only Liq, Iso-Liq, and L3 stimulated estrogen-regulated gene expression, and in all cases gene stimulation did not occur in HepG2 cells lacking ERα. Collectively, these findings classify the components of licorice root extracts as low potency, mixed ER agonists and antagonists, having a character akin to that of selective estrogen receptor modulators or SERMs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.