• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.35-43
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• 2002

Glycosides of herbal medicines, such as glycyrrhizin, ginsenosides, kalopanaxsaponins, rutin and ponicirin, were studied regarding their metabolic fates and pharmacological actions in relation to intestinal bacteria using germ-free, gnotobiotic and conventional animals. When glycyrrhizin (GL) was orally administered, $18{\beta}-glycyrrhetinic\;acid\;(GA)$, not GL, was detected in plasma and intestinal contents of gnotobiotic and conventional rats. However, GA could not be detected in germ-free rats. When GL was incubated with human intestinal bacteria, it was directly metabolized to GA (>95%) or via $18{\beta}-glycyrrhetinic\;acid-3-{\beta}-D-glucuronide$(>5%). Orally administered GL was effective in gnotobiotic and conventional rats for liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride, but was not effective in germ-free rats. When ginseng saponins were orally administered to human beings, compound K in the plasma was detected, but the other protopanxadiol saponins were not detected. The compound K was active for tumor metastasis and allergy. When kalopanaxsaponins were incubated with human intestinal microflora, they were metabolized to kalopanaxsaponin A, kalopanaxsaponin I and hederagenin. These metabolites were active for rheumatoid arthritis and diabetic mellitus while the other kalopanxsaponins were not. When flavonoid glycosides were orally administered to animals, aglycones and/or phenolic acids were detected in the urine. The metabolic pathways proceeded by intestinal bacteria rather than by liver or blood enzymes. These metabolites, aglycones and phenolic acids, showed antitumor, antiinflammatory and antiplatelet aggregation activities. These findings suggest that glycosides of herbal medicines are prodrugs.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.86-92
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• 2002

The enhancement of paracellular transport of heparin disaccharide using several absorption enhancers across Caco-2 cell monolayers was tested . The cytotoxicity of these enhancers was also examined. The enhancing effects by Quillaja saponin, diponin glycyrrhizinate, $18{\beta}-glycyrrhetinic$ acid, sodium caprate and taurine were determined by changes in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and the amount of heparin disaccharide transported across Caco-2 cell monolayers. Among the absorption enhancers, $18{\beta}-glycyrrhetinic$ acid arid taurine decreased TEER and increased the permeability of heparin disaccharide in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner with little or negligible cytotoxicity. Our results indicate that these absorption enhancers can widen the tight junction, which is a dominant paracellular absorption route of hydrophilic compounds . It is highly possible that these absorption enhancers can be applied as pharmaceutical excipients to improve the transport of macromolecules and hydrophilic drugs having difficulty in permeability across the intestinal epithelium.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.321-326
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• 2015

Plackett-Burman (PB) and Box-Behnken (BB) experimental designs were used to optimize fermentation variables for the biotransformation of glycyrrhizin (GL) to monoglucuronyl-glycyrrhetinic acid (MGGA). The PB design was first used to screen the important factors among the medium variables. The steepest ascent method was used to approach the optimum range for each of these factors. The BB design was finally used to analyze the response surfaces of the screened factors for further optimization. The optimized conditions for this system were 0.7 g/L $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$, 1.19 g/L GL, and cultivation for six days. The biotransformation of GL to MGGA could reach up to 35.72%, which is a good result for this kind of transformation.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.375-377
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• 1994

Thirteen kinds of naturally occurring or derivatised thiterpenes, reported to have an antitumoral property, were reinvestigated on the basis of their direct cytotoxicity or the inhibitory activity on cell growth against five kinds of cultured human tumor cells, i.e., A-549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, XF-498 and HCT15, in vitro. Ursonic acid III, betulinic acid VIII, betulonic acid X and glycrrhetinic acid XI were exhibitied a marked inhibition on cell growth.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.237-242
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• 1985

11-Keto-derivatives of pomolic acid, $\beta$-boswellic acid and presenegenin were compared with those of oleanolic acid, hederagenin and glycyrrhetinic acid in respects of inhibitions on corticoid-5.betha.-reductase and anti-inflammatory activities. Hyddrophilicity of ring A and hydrophobicity of rings C/D enhanced the inhibition on the enzyme. However, the former induced edema and the latter caused to exhibit anti-inflammatory activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.792-799
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• 2005

Two novel $\beta$-glucuronidases, which metabolize glycyrrhizin (GL) to 18$\beta$-glycyrrhetinic acid-3-O-$\beta$-D-glucuronide (GAMG), were purified from Streptococcus LJ-22 isolated from human intestinal microflora. $\beta$-Glucuronidases I and II were purified to apparent homogeneity, using a combination of ammonium sulfate fractionation, butyl toyopearl, Q-Sepharose, hydroxyapatite Ultrogel, and GL-attached Sepharose column chromatographies, with the final specific activities of 137 and 190 nmole/min/mg, respectively. The molecular sizes of both $\beta$-glucuronidases were found to be 140 kDa by gel filtration, and they consisted of two identical subunits (M.W. 67 kDa by SDS-PAGE). $\beta$-Glucuronidases I and II showed optimal activity at pH 7.0 and pH 6.5, respectively. Both purified enzymes were potently inhibited by $Cu^{2+}$ and PCMS, and had maximum activity on glycyrrhizin, but did not hydrolyze p-nitrophenyl-$\beta$-glucuronides, baicalin, or GAMG These findings suggest that the biochemical properties and substrate specificities of these enzymes are different from those of the previously purified $\beta$-glucuronidases. This is the first reported purification of sugar (not aglycone)-recognizing $\beta$-glucuronidases from intestinal bacteria.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.134-138
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• 2011

Glycyrrhetinic acid, which is a component of licorice, can cause hypermineralocorticoidism through the inhibition of $11{\beta}$-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. So, a high dose intake of licorice can lead to hypermineralocorticoidism with potassium loss and depression of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. We report a 73-year-old man with muscle weakness of proximal lower limbs with hypokalemia (Serum $K^+$: 1.4 mEq/L) due to taking self-prescribed licorice without OMD's diagnosis. He boiled 60~100g licorice / day in water and drank it intermittently for 1 month due to arthralgia and swelling of both his knees. Patient's serum renin activity and aldosterone level were far beyond the normal range. He also had metabolic alkalosis with pH 7.552. After quitting the licorice, hypokalemia and muscle weakness of proximal lower limbs gradually improved within 1week.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.227-232
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• 1989

As a part of studies on the quality control of crude drug preparation (So-Shi-Ho-Tang), index components of Glycyrrhizae Radix were identified by TLC and quantified by HPLC. Specific red spot (Rf=0.47) was identified in acid hydrolysate of glycosidic fraction on silica gel plate with benzene/ethyl acetate (1 : 1, v/v). The content of glycyrrhizin was determined by quantification of glycyrrhetinic acid by HPLC on ${\mu}-Bondapak\;C_{18}$ column with $MeOH/H_2O/HAc$ (78 : 19 : 3, v/v). Its recovery rate in the extract granules, compared to the content in the Glycyrrhizae Radix, was $83.3{\pm}0.7%$.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.178-183
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• 1986

It was our working hypothesis that introduction of 11-keto groups to 12-oleanene/ursene series of triterpenoids should endow them with corticoid-like activities, since pharmacological actions of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) are known to be caused by inhibition on $corticoid-{\delta}^4-reductase$. 11-Keto-triterpenoids derived artificially in these studies, such as 11, 19-diketo-18, 19-secoursolic acid methyl ester(I), $11-keto-{\beta}-boswellic$ acid derivatives (IIa-IIc), 11-Keto-presenegenin dimethyl ester (III), II-keto-oleanolic acid derivatives (IVa-IVd) and 11-keto-hederagenin (V) possess the fundamental functions of ${\alpha},\;{\beta}-unsaturated$ ketone on C-11 and hydroxyl group on C-3, as like GA (VI). Additionally, they involve the carboxyl groups on rings A (II, III), D (I, III, IV, V) and E (VI), and the hydroxyl groups on rings A (III, V) and C (III). All the compounds competitively inhibited $corticoid-5{\beta}-reductase$, and the highest inhibitory potency appeared in I. All of them except $3,\;11-diketo-{\beta}-boswellic$ acid methyl ester (IIc) were more effective about five times to twice than GA. On carrageenin-induced edema test, compounds I and IVa-IVd showed anti-inflammatory activities, but III enhanced rather edema. Structure-activity relations were found in the aspects of hydrophilicity of ring A and hydrophobicity of rings C/D. The more they were hydrophilic in ring A and hydrophobic in rings C/D, the more they inhibited the enzyme. And the more they were hydrophobic in rings C/D, the more they exhibited antiiflammatory activities. However, the increased hydrophilicity in ring A resulted in increasing edema, probably due to a nonspecific inhibition on $aldosterone-5{\beta}-reductase$.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.50-52
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• 2001

Licorice is widely used as a Chinese(herbal) medicine. The glycyrrhizin, a main ingredient of the natural licorice, has a potent mineralocorticoid effect which may cause severe hypokalemia and muscle paralysis. We present a 60-year-old woman, who had been ingesting one or two spoonful of licorice powder daily for about one year, developed acute flaccid quadriparesis with high levels of serum muscle enzymes and the typical features of mineralocorticoid excess such as severe hypokalemia and metabolic alkalosis. Both plasma renin activity and serum aldosterone level were below the normal values. This case indicates that licorice-induced hypokalemic myopathy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient with acute quadriparesis and hypokalemia.