Effect of glycyrrhizic acid, ammonium salt in experimental animal models of inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Licorice is known herb applied for the inflammation, gastritis, ulcers, arthritis. Root contains glycyrrhizin used as demulcent in inflammatory affection and irritable conditions of bowel. The most important and well-known bioactive components of licorice root are the triterpene glycoside, Glycyrrhizic Acid and its aglycone, 18β-β glycyrrhetinic acid, are having many  biological activity  like anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, anti-allergic, anti-dote, anti-oxidant, anti-viral and anti-tumor. Glycyrrhizinic acid, ammonium salt (GA), is evaluated in the present reaserch work for it’s effect in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) . The GA (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg/day i.p.) was tried on three different experimental animal models of IBD, which are acetic acid-induced colitis in mice and indomethacin-induced enterocolitis in rats and ethanol induced colitis in mice. Prednisolone was used as the standard drug for comparison. The GA showed significant inhibitory activity against IBD induced in these experimental animal models. The activity was comparable with the standard drug prednisolone. The results of present work suggested that GA has a pharmacological capacity to reduce oxidative stress, as evidenced by the significant decrease in lipid peroxidation measured as MDA levels, improved appetite along with maintenance of nutritional status and significantly increased plasma total protein level of GA pretreated animals, which helps to improve the antioxidant capacity. The effect of GA is due to pre and post treatment to inducer of respective paradigm. Hence GA will be protective as a prophylactic as well as curative drug in treating the conditions of IBD. The results of present study were suggested that GA may possibly acts as antioxidant in preventing the conditions of IBD.