Mulethi (licorice): real but unrecognised hazards of superstitions in mothers: a case report

Sham Lohiya; Chitturi V. S. Akhil; Shubhangi P. Ganvir; Jayant Vagha

doi:10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20222979

Authors

Sham Lohiya Department of Pediatrics, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital, Sawangi Meghe, Wardha, Maharashtra, India
Chitturi V. S. Akhil Department of Pediatrics, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital, Sawangi Meghe, Wardha, Maharashtra, India
Shubhangi P. Ganvir Department of Pediatrics, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital, Sawangi Meghe, Wardha, Maharashtra, India
Jayant Vagha Department of Pediatrics, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital, Sawangi Meghe, Wardha, Maharashtra, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20222979

Keywords:

Licorice, Sweetener, Mineralocorticoids, Glycorrhizin, Hypokalemia

Abstract

Licorice extract has long been known as a natural sweetener and thirst reliever. Many people who take large amounts and are prone to complications overestimate its nutritional benefits. Glycyrrhetic acid, the active metabolite in licorice, inhibits 11-ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzyme type 2 causing increased cortisol levels and hypernatremia, hypokalemia. In this case report, we ensure a holistic study of licorice, as well as the documented side effects of excessive consumption. The study emphasises the necessity of looking into dietary habits and herbal medicines that are utilised around the world based on cultural and habitual grounds rather than scientific data. Not many case reports are available on this particular aspect of licorice consumption and its unknown adverse effects. We anticipate that our review will serve as a deterrent to parents’s superstitious beliefs on the benefits of licorice consumption.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Fenwick G, Lutomski J, Nieman C. Liquorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra L. – composition, uses and analysis. Food Chem. 1990;8:119-43.

Basso A, Dalla Paola L, Erle G, Boscaro M, Armanini D. Licorice ameliorates postural hypotension caused by diabetic autonomic neuropathy. Diabetes Care. 1994;17:1356.

Bernardi M, D’Intino P, Trevisani F, CantelliForti G, Raggi M, Turchetto E, et al. Effects of prolonged ingestion of graded doses of liquorice by healthy volunteers. Life Sci. 1994;55:863-72.

Cayley F. Potassium deficiency in p-aminosalicylic acid therapy: cardiac and paralytic effects. Lancet. 1950;1:447-8.

De Klerk G, Nieuwenhuis M, Beutler J. Hypokalaemia and hypertension associated with use of liquorice flavoured chewing gum. Br Med J. 1997;314:731-2.

Campana A, Manzo M, Brigante M, Marrazzo N, Melchiorre G. An unusual cause of cardiac arrest. Ital Heart J Suppl. 2003;4:510-3.

Francini-Pesenti F, Puato M, Piccoli A, Brocadello F. Liquorice-induced hypokalaemia and water retention in the absence of hypertension. Phytother Res. 2008;22:563-5.

Gross E, Dexter J, Roth R. Hypokalemic myopathy with myoglobinuria associated with licorice ingestion. N Engl J Med. 1996;274:602-6.

Kent U, Aviram M, Rosenblat M, Hollenberg P. The licorice root derived isoflavan glabridin inhibits the activities of human cytochrome P450S 3A4, 2B6 and 2C9. Drug Metab Dispos. 2002;30:709-15.

Lin S, Yang S, Chau T, Halperin M. An unusual cause of hypokalemic paralysis: chronic licorice ingestion. Am J Med Sci. 2003;325:153-6.