Metabolism of Glycyrrhizin by Human Intestinal Flora

Abstract

During the course of experiments on the metabolism of Chinese crude drugs by human intestinal flora, glycyrrhizin, an active component of liquorice, was shown to be hydrolyzed to the aglycone, 18-β-glycyrrhetic acid, which was then transformed to a new compound, 3-epi-18β-glycyrrhetic acid. The epimerization of 18β-glycyrrhetic acid to 3-epi-18β-glycyrrhetic acid was also shown to be reversible via a metabolic intermediate, 3-dehydro-18β-glycyrrhetic acid.