Glycyrrhizin increases survival of mice with herpes simplex encephalitis.
We examined the effect of glycyrrhizin (GR), a component of licorice root extract, on herpetic encephalitis that was inflicted on mice by inoculation of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) onto their cornea. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of GR to mice suffering from herpetic encephalitis increased their survival rate in average about 2.5 times (from 37.5-29.0% to 81.8-83.3%; mean values from 2 experiments) while it reduced HSV-1 replication in the brain to 45.6% of the control. These results demonstrate a stimulative effect of GR on the mouse defense system(s) against HSV-1 infection.
Sekizawa
T
T
Department of Neurology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. tsekizawa@yachts.ac.jp
Yanagi
K
K
Itoyama
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000821:virology; D020803:Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D051379:Mice; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid