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Study: Licorice Poses Danger To Transplant Recipients

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SUNCOAST NEWS STAFF REPORT

Published: April 1, 2009

People who have had a transplant may want to skip the licorice.

According to newly published research from Taiwan, a chemical in licorice interferes with a drug commonly given to transplant recipients to keep the body from rejecting a transplanted organ.

Pei-Dawn Lee Chao, a chemist at China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan, and his colleagues recently reported on their study of the effect of licorice on the action of the anti-rejection drug cyclosporine at the American Chemical Society's 237th National Meeting, held last week in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Scientists have long known that various herbs, foods and medicine can reduce the level of cyclosporine in the body. The study by Chao and his team is the first to implicate licorice as a cyclosporine inhibitor.

The researchers made the discovery after administering cyclosporine to laboratory rats and then gave some of the rats a natural licorice extract or pure glycyrrhizin, the main active ingredient in licorice. The rats that received the licorice extract or glycyrrhizin had significantly reduced levels of cyclosporine.

"I would suggest that transplant patients avoid taking licorice," warns Chao.

The Chao-led study adds to a growing number of reports that suggest licorice can trigger potentially dangerous drug interactions. Other studies have shown that licorice can interfere with high blood pressure medications, aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs, insulin and oral contraceptives.

As a result, Chao and colleagues say patients should check with their doctor before consuming licorice with any critical drugs that might trigger unhealthy interactions.

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