• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.10a
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• pp.89-89
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• 2019

Several studies report the anticancer effect of Glycyrrhiza glabra (G. glabra), Glycyrrhiza uralensis (G. uralensis) and their compounds. However, the anticancer effect of Glycyrrhiza cultivar roots are limited. In this study, we compared the anticancer effect of Glycyrrhiza cultivar (Wongam and Shinwongam) extracts with G. glabra and G. uralensis extracts in breast cancer cell lines. Freeze dried Glycyrrhiza root extracts were dissolved in cell culture media at 2 mg/mL and filtered by $0.2{\mu}m$ filter. Glycyrrhiza root extracts were serially diluted at the concentrations of $10{\mu}g/mL$, $100{\mu}g/mL$, $200{\mu}g/mL$, $400{\mu}g/mL$, $800{\mu}g/mL$, $1000{\mu}g/mL$ and $2000{\mu}g/mL$. MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of Glycyrrhiza root extracts and the cell viability was measured using MTT assay. In MCF-7 cells, G. glabra showed no significant difference with Wongam and showed significant difference with Shinwongam at $1000{\mu}g/mL$ (G. glabra 101.2% and Shinwongam 82.68%) and $2000{\mu}g/mL$ (G. glabra 83.07% and Shinwongam 54.05%). G. uralensis showed significant difference with Wongam at $2000{\mu}g/mL$ (G. uralensis 66.48% and Wongam 95.02%) and showed no significant difference with Shinwongam. In MDA-MB-231 cells, G. glabra showed no significant difference with both Wongam and Shinwongam. G. uralensis showed significant difference with Wongam at $2000{\mu}g/mL$ (G. uralensis 72.59% and Wongam 93.47%) and showed no significant difference with Shinwongam. In conclusion, the current study demonstrated that G, glabra and G. uralensis compared with Wongam, and Shinwongam at low concentrations ($10{\mu}g/mL{\sim}800{\mu}g/mL$) display similar cytotoxic potency.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.327-334
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• 2020

Oxidative stress is common cause of neurodegenerative diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate the in vitro free radical scavenging activity and protective effect of three Glycyrrhiza species including Glycyrrhiza uralensis, G. glabra, and a new variety of Glycyrrihza (Shinwongam, SW) against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in C6 glial cells. In vitro assays, radical scavenging activities of G. uralensis, G. glabra, and SW against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, ·OH, and O2- increased as concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the SW was found to contain the highest polyphenol and flavonoid contents. The treatment of H2O2 to C6 glial cell induced oxidative stress, whereas G. uralensis, G. glabra, and SW significantly increased the cell viability as dose-dependent manner. In particular, SW exerted stronger protective effect on H2O2-induced cytotoxicity, than G. uralensis and G. glabra. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation was significantly elevated by H2O2 in C6 glial cells. However, treatments of G. uralensis, G. glabra, and SW decreased ROS formation. In addition, SW decreased pro-inflammatory related protein expression levels such as inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2, compared to H2O2-treated control group. These results indicated that G. uralensis and G. glavra, especially SW, may be useful for preventing from oxidative stress-induced neuronal damage by regulating inflammatory reaction.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.10a
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• pp.104-104
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• 2019

Licorice species (Glycyrhiza species) are perennial plants belonging to the Leguminosae family. Licorice is world-widely distributed in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The licorice species, such as Glycyrhiza uralensis (G. uralensis) and G. glabra, have been widely used in traditional oriental medicine. G. uralensis is found in Central Asia to the northeastern part of China and G. glabra is distributed from southern Europe to the northwestern part of China. These licorice species are characterized by having various pharmacological activities, including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune improvement, and anti-tumor effects. In this study, we investigated the comparative anti-inflammatory effects of four licorice varieties (G. glabra L., G. uralensis FISCH., Shinwongam, and Wongam) on LPS-induced inflammatory responses in RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line. We evaluated the cytotoxicity of licorices at various concentrations. In addition, the nitric oxide (NO) production was elucidated by the treatment of licorice.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2018

BACKGROUD/OBJECTIVES: Neuroinflammation plays critical role in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated the effect of three licorice varieties, Glycyrhiza uralensis, G. glabra, and Shinwongam (SW) on a mouse model of inflammation-induced memory and cognitive deficit. MATERIALS/METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 2.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) and orally administrated G. uralensis, G. glabra, and SW extract (150 mg/kg/day). SW, a new species of licorice in Korea, was combined with G. uralensis and G. glabra. Behavioral tests, including the T-maze, novel object recognition and Morris water maze, were carried out to assess learning and memory. In addition, the expressions of inflammation-related proteins in brain tissue were measured by western blotting. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in spatial and objective recognition memory in LPS-induced cognitive impairment group, as measured by the T-maze and novel object recognition test; however, the administration of licorice ameliorated these deficits. In addition, licorice-treated groups exhibited improved learning and memory ability in the Morris water maze. Furthermore, LPS-injected mice had up-regulated pro-inflammatory proteins, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-6, via activation of toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor-kappa B ($NF{\kappa}B$) pathways in the brain. However, these were attenuated by following administration of the three licorice varieties. Interestingly, the SW-administered group showed greater inhibition of iNOS and TLR4 when compared with the other licorice varieties. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the brain of LPS-induced cognitively impaired mice that were administered licorice, with the greatest effect following SW treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The three licorice varieties ameliorated the inflammation-induced cognitive dysfunction by down-regulating inflammatory proteins and up-regulating BDNF. These results suggest that licorice, in particular SW, could be potential therapeutic agents against cognitive impairment.