Glycyrrhetinic acid is a major active ingredient in licorice, a famous traditional Chinese medicine. Many studies on its anti-tumor activities and low toxicity to normal cells have attracted a great deal of attention. Reports indicated that glycyrrhetinic acid inhibited the growth of tumor cells through inducing apoptosis, differentiation and the block of cell cycle, suppressing tumor metastasis, reversing the multidrug resistance. Glycyrrhetinic acid also presented synergistic effects combined with chemotherapeutics and could inhibit the carcinogenesis induced by carcinogen. With further studies on mechanism of anticancer actions, glycyrrhetinic acid is being expected to have a good prospect of development and application for cancer therapy.
Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Glycyrrhetinic Acid ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Neoplasm Invasiveness