Glycyrrhizin, an active component of liquorice roots, and replication of SARS-associated coronavirus.

Cinatl, J; Morgenstern, B; Bauer, G; Chandra, P; Rabenau, H; Doerr, H W · Lancet · 2003

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The outbreak of SARS warrants the search for antiviral compounds to treat the disease. At present, no specific treatment has been identified for SARS-associated coronavirus infection. We assessed the antiviral potential of ribavirin, 6-azauridine, pyrazofurin, mycophenolic acid, and glycyrrhizin against two clinical isolates of coronavirus (FFM-1 and FFM-2) from patients with SARS admitted to the clinical centre of Frankfurt University, Germany. Of all the compounds, glycyrrhizin was the most active in inhibiting replication of the SARS-associated virus. Our findings suggest that glycyrrhizin should be assessed for treatment of SARS.

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