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Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of Glycyrrhiza uralensis root extracts produced using artificial hydroponic-field hybrid cultivation systems II: comparison of serum concentration of glycyrrhetinic acid serum concentration in mice

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Abstract

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Glycyrrhiza uralensis root produced using artificial hydroponic and artificial hydroponic-field hybrid cultivation systems, we investigated the pharmacokinetics of a major metabolite of glycyrrhizin (GL), glycyrrhetinic acid (GA). Hot water extracts obtained from the roots of the artificial hydroponic-field hybrid cultivated Glycyrrhiza uralensis were orally administered at a dose of 100 mg/kg as GL in mice and, compared with a commercial crude drug, Glycyrrhizae Radix. The temporal changes in serum GA concentration was found to depend on the GL concentration of the hot-water extracts. When hot-water extracts containing relatively high GL were administered, bimodal peaks appeared. In contrast, a broad single peak was detected when a hot-water extract containing relatively low GL content was administered. These tendencies in the serum GA concentration time course were observed for all samples, regardless of their derivation. Moreover, we compared the pharmacokinetic parameters and found that the Cmax and AUC0–48 values after oral administration of the extracts from Glycyrrhiza uralensis roots produced by the artificial cultivation system are within the range of variation for the commercial crude drugs. These results suggest the possibility that roots of Glycyrrhiza uralensis cultivated by the artificial hydroponic-field hybrid cultivation system can be used in addition to currently available commercial crude drugs produced from wild plant resources.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a research and development grant of the Japan Agency for Medicinal Research and Development (AMED; 16ak0101034h0002). The authors would like to thank the Japan Kampo Medicines Manufacturers Association and the Japan Medicinal Plant Federation for providing the commercial crude drugs, Glycyrrhiza Radix. We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.jp) for English language editing.

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Author notes

  1. Shigeki Hayashi

    Present address: Tanegashima Division, Research Center for Medicinal Plant Resources, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 17007-2 Noma, Nakatane-cho, Kumage-gun, Kagoshima, 891-3604, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama, Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, 468-8503, Aichi, Japan

    Mitsuhiko Nose, Kazuma Yamanaka & Shinsuke Hisaka

  2. Tsukuba Division, Research Center for Medicinal Plant Resources, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 1-2 Hachimandai, Tsukuba, 303-0843, Ibaraki, Japan

    Takayuki Inui, Noriaki Kawano, Hiroyuki Fuchino, Nobuo Kawahara & Kayo Yoshimatsu

  3. Hokkaido Division, Research Center for Medicinal Plant Resources, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 108-4 Oohashi, Nayoro, 096-0065, Hokkaido, Japan

    Takayuki Inui, Shigeki Hayashi & Atsuyuki Hishida

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  1. Mitsuhiko Nose
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  2. Kazuma Yamanaka
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Correspondence to Mitsuhiko Nose.

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Nose, M., Yamanaka, K., Hisaka, S. et al. Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of Glycyrrhiza uralensis root extracts produced using artificial hydroponic-field hybrid cultivation systems II: comparison of serum concentration of glycyrrhetinic acid serum concentration in mice. J Nat Med 73, 661–666 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-019-01312-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-019-01312-9

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