In daily practice hypokalaemia is frequently observed. It can be accompanied by various adverse events and can even be life threatening. Frequent causes are intestinal and urinary loss, i.e. diarrhoea or use of diuretics. Glycyrrhizin-containing substances, such as liquorice, are a well-known but rare cause of hypokalaemia. They can induce an apparent mineralocorticoid excess-like syndrome, oft...

Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (family:Fabaceae:Leguminosae) is one of the important medicinal plant, commonly called as liquorice. Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly distributed into four groups (n=8). Experimental groups were injected intra-peritoneally with aqueous extract of G. glabra at 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/day, respectively, for 30 consecutive days while control group was injected ...

In December 2002, a 49-year-old man was admitted to our hospital, with headache. He had no significant past medical history other than hypertension, diagnosed at a supermarket, while on holiday in the USA in August 2002. On admission, he was hypertensive, blood pressure (BP) 200/114mmHg with slight ankle oedema and normal systemic examination. Blood tests showedhypokalaemia [2.2mmol/l; normal r...

We describe a patient presenting with hypertension and hypokalaemia who was ultimately diagnosed with liquorice- induced pseudohyperaldosteronism. This rare cause of secondary hypertension illustrates the importance of a methodical approach to the assessment of hypertension.

This study compared the interfacial and emulsifying properties of purified saponins non-purified saponin-rich extracts Glycyrrhiza glabra, highlighted potential mechanisms by which crude surface-active compositions, such as liquorice root extract (LRE), act emulsifiers. LRE presented different fluid properties, in comparison to glycyrrhizin (PG), at equivalent concentrations. Particularly, it e...

The protective effect of liquorice plant extract (LPE) on CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in common carp was evaluated using fifty adult carps. The fish were cultured in a standard environment in terms of water flow rate, oxygen, pH, food and temperature. The fish were assigned into 5 groups (N = 10) as control, sham, and tests. The test groups were pre-treated for 3 h with various concentrations o...

The extracts of 17 spices commonly used in Egypt as food condiments were screened for their antimicrobial activities against 7 standard microbial strains (S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. typhi, C. albicans and A. niger). Among the tested alcoholic extracts only 3 (clove, thyme and cinnamon) showed broad spectrum antimicrobial activities. Garlic juice too showed broad spectrum...