Background: Recent dramatic consideration of herbal medicine in evidence-based medicine has prompted development of rigorous analytical methods for evaluation of herbal medicines such as Glycyrrhiza spp. extracts. Glycyrrhizin and glycyrrhetinic acid have been identified as the compounds responsible for the phytotherapeutic properties of Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice), whose extracts are used for therapeutic virological interventions.
Objectives: This systematic literature review and meta-analysis were conducted to highlight the progress made in research concerning the association of licorice and Covid 19.
Design: Systematic literature review and meta-analysis.
Methods: This review was reported based on guidelines recommended by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Literature searches were carried out on PubMed and Google Scholar. A second search was performed on the reference lists of the studies obtained in the initial search.
Results: Sixty-eight abstracts were obtained from the initial search, for which a full-text review to assess eligibility was done, with 24 studies meeting the full inclusion criteria 19 of included studies were experimental and they all used a qualitative research design as they reported on primary data outcomes. The five studies used for meta-analysis included one randomized controlled trial, two retrospective study, one clinical study and one observational study. The meta-analysis shows a pooled association of 82% between therapeutic use of herbal concoctions containing licorice and COVID patient recovery, with the confidence interval ranging from 63% to 92%. From this review, licorice extracts have a high potential for therapeutic use against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID. The most promising phytoconstituents found in licorice are glycyrrhizin licochalcone, liquiritin and glycyrrhetinic acid.
Conclusion: This study established that licorice extracts have a high potential for therapeutic use against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID. The most promising phytoconstituents found in licorice are Glycyrrhizin (GR), licochalcone, liquiritin and Glycyrrhetinic Acid (GA). These flavonoids have an average docking score of -8.25, which is better than most antivirals available for the management of COVID.
Published Date: 2023-09-28; Received Date: 2023-08-04
