Anti-diabetic substance discovered in liquorice root

Liquorice grows best in deep valleys, well-drained soils, with full sun, and is harvested in the autumn, two to three years after planting. Liquorice extract is produced by boiling liquorice root and subsequently evaporating most of the water, and is traded both in solid and syrup form. Its active principle is glycyrrhizin, a sweetener between 30 to 50 times as sweet as sucrose, and which also has pharmaceutical effects.

Liquorice flavour is found in a wide variety of liquorice candies or sweets. In Britain and the US these are usually sweet. In most of these candies the taste is reinforced by aniseed oil, and the actual content of liquorice is very low. In continental Europe however, strong, salty candies are popular.

In the Netherlands, where liquorice candy (“drop”) is one of the most popular forms of sweet, only a few of the many forms that are sold contain aniseed, although mixing it with mint, menthol or with laurel is quite popular. Mixing it with ammonium chloride is also popular, and is known as Salmiak, but mixing it with table salt creates what is probably the most popular liquorice, known in the Netherlands as zoute drop.

Pontefract in Yorkshire was the first place where liquorice mixed with sugar began to be used as a sweet in the same way it is in the modern day. Pontefract Cakes were originally made there. In Yorkshire and Lancashire it is colloquially known as Spanish, supposedly because Spanish monks grew liquorice root at Rievaulx Abbey near Thirsk.
Liquorice flavouring is also used in soft drinks, and in some herbal teas where it provides a sweet aftertaste. The flavour is common in medicines to disguise unpleasant flavours.

Liquorice root

Liquorice is popular in Italy (particularly in the South) and Spain in its natural form. The root of the plant is simply dug up, washed and chewed as a mouth freshener. Throughout Italy unsweetened liquorice is consumed in the form of small black pieces made only from 100% pure liquorice extract; the taste is bitter and intense. In Calabria a popular liqueur is made from pure liquorice extract. Liquorice is also very popular in Syria where it is sold as a drink. Dried liquorice root can be chewed as a sweet. Black liquorice contains approximately 100 calories per ounce (15 kJ/g).[12]

Washington, Apr 18 (ANI): Researchers have found promising anti-diabetic substance in the amorfrutin class of natural substances.

It provides the raw material for liquorice candy, calms the stomach and alleviates diseases of the airways: liquorice root.

Chosen as the “Medicinal plant 2012″, the root has been treasured in traditional healing since ancient times.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin have now discovered that liquorice root also contains substances with an anti-diabetic effect.

These amorfrutins not only reduce blood sugar, they are also anti-inflammatory and are very well tolerated. Thus, they may be suitable for use in the treatment of complex metabolic disorders.

Natural substances have a surprising and often largely unexploited potential in the prevention and treatment of common diseases.

For example, liquorice root Glycyrrhiza contains different substances that help to alleviate disorders of the airways and digestive system. It has been used for millennia in traditional healing and is mainly administered in the form of tea.

A team of researchers working with Sascha Sauer from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin has now discovered that the plant from the papilionaceae or leguminous family might also be effective in the treatment of adult (type 2) diabetes.

The scientists identified a group of natural substances with an anti-diabetic effect, the amorfrutins, in the plant’s edible root.

The substances, which have a simple chemical structure, are not only found in liquorice root, but are also in the fruit of the Amorpha fruticosa bush. The new anti-diabetic agents were named after this plant, which is native to the US, Canada and Mexico.

As the researchers demonstrated using diabetic mice, the amorfrutins not only have characteristics that reduce blood sugar, they are also anti-inflammatory in their effect. Moreover, they also prevent fatty liver – a common disease caused by excessively fat-rich nutrition.

“The health-beneficial effects are based on the fact that the amorfrutin molecules dock directly onto a receptor in the nucleus called PPAR (gamma),” explained Sascha Sauer.

PPAR (gamma) plays an important role in the cell’s fat and glucose metabolism.

The binding of the amorfrutin molecules activates various genes that reduce the plasma concentration of certain fatty acids and glucose. The reduced glucose level prevents the development of insulin resistance – the main cause of adult diabetes.

“Although there are already drugs on the market that affect the PPAR (gamma) receptor, they are not selective enough in their effect and cause side effects like weight gain and cardio-vascular problems,” said Sascha Sauer.

In contrast, as demonstrated by the studies carried out to date, the amorfrutins are very well tolerated.

“However, drinking liquorice tea or eating liquorice will not help to treat diabetes,” explained the scientist.

“The concentration of the substances in the tea and liquorice is far too low to be effective,” Sauer added.

The researchers therefore developed special extraction processes to obtain the amorfrutins from the plant in sufficient concentrations. This could be used to produce amorfrutin extracts on an industrial scale.

The newly discovered active substances not only seem to hold great promise for the treatment of complex metabolic disorders, they may also be suitable for prophylactic use. (ANI)

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