kittykay

Hi,

I was looking through studies recently and found this one about Licorice. PCOS is mentioned at the end.

I'm thinking of giving it a try as outlined in their study.... The thing is I'm also giving other stuff a try too...e.i. Buckwheat muffins, etc...so I probably won't know what alone works or not.

Has anyone else tried or dealt with Licorice here? What were your findings?


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Licorice reduces serum testosterone in healthy women.

Armanini D, Mattarello MJ, Fiore C, Bonanni G, Scaroni C, Sartorato P, Palermo M.

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences-Endocrinology, University of Padua, Via Ospedale 105, 35100 Padua, Italy.

Licorice has been considered a medicinal plant for thousands of years. The most common side effect is hypokalemic hypertension, which is secondary to a block of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 at the level of the kidney, leading to an enhanced mineralocorticoid effect of cortisol. We have investigated the effect of licorice on androgen metabolism in nine healthy women 22-26 years old, in the luteal phase of the cycle. They were given 3.5g of a commercial preparation of licorice (containing 7.6% W.W. of glycyrrhizic acid) daily for two cycles. They were not on any other treatment. Plasma renin activity, serum adrenal and gonadal androgens, aldosterone, and cortisol were measured by radioimmunoassay. Total serum testosterone decreased from 27.8+/-8.2 to 19.0+/-9.4 in the first month and to 17.5+/-6.4ng/dL in the second month of therapy (p<0.05). It returned to pre-treatment levels after discontinuation. Androstenedione, 17OH-progesterone, and LH levels did not change significantly during treatment. Plasma renin activity and aldosterone were depressed during therapy, while blood pressure and cortisol remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS:: licorice can reduce serum testosterone probably due to the block of 17-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 17-20 lyase. Licorice could be considered an adjuvant therapy of hirsutism and polycystic ovary syndrome.

VanillaSkyy

I'm A Little Tea Pot

The only problem with licorice is that it also increases estrogen levels which is not a good thing for pcos.

kittykay

That is a valid concern....as I've also been wondering about that. But in my search for licorice info I've run into many interesting things:

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• Licorice Root — Licorice root supports the balance between estrogen and progesterone. It also supports a healthy immune system.

http://www.raging-hormones.com/formula-t.htm

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Some phytoestrogens will be pro-estrogen, while others will be anti-estrogen. “Phytoestrogens� can be a confusing label, as many are not estrogens at all—like lignans—yet they turn into biologically active estrogens when consumed. Over 300 plants are in this category.

Plant sources which contain estrogen like compounds (estradiol, estrone, estriol): licorice, french beans, apples, rice. All vegetable sprouts may be high.

Other phytoestrogenic plants include: willow, wormseed, astragalus, lotus, sorrel, sage, aniseed, celery, black cohosh, tansy, alcoholic drinks, corn oil, cherry, carrots, peas, sunflower, fennel, rhubarb, flaxseed, squash, saw palmetto, bakers yeast, plum, potato, pumpkin, olive oil, hops, dong quai, garlic, licorice, marrow, cabbage family

The plants with the strongest concentration of phytoestrogens, have less than 1% of the potency of our own natural estrogen.

http://www.motherearthherbs.com/phytosterols.html

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Women with polycystic ovaries usually show signs of increased testosterone production (hirsutism). It has been shown by several Japanese research teams that this condition may be reversed by using the simple Peony and Licorice Combination, made of equal parts of white peony and licorice. While this formula may not prevent the typical imbalance between FSH and LH (something that could be accomplished, instead, by the kidney reinforcing regimen), it does affect the conversion of androsterones to testosterone and therefore may have immediate beneficial effects by reducing testosterone levels.

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/ovcyst.htm

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Those are just some of the info I've read. The last one is Kampo (Chinese herbs used and studied in Japan).

I'm still looking for the negative. The only negative I find is where some people are taking too large of quantity and developed hypertension. Here is one page listing information in great detail. (Other pages seem to only generalize with warnings without studies, where as this one has actual study info and notes at the end.)

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So, there is a consensus that about 10-12 mg/day of glycyrrhizic acid should be safe for everyone (even those who might be sensitive to licorice effects) and that for most others, a safe level would be about 40-50 mg/day to avoid any blood pressure effects, with 100 mg (75-120 mg/day) having minimal effects that may barely be measurable.

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/hypertension.htm

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Although, I have seen pages that list 50 -100 grams as potententialy harmful if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol so best to take into consideration.

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A recent study in the Journal of Hypertension shows that a moderate amount of licorice, 50 to 100 grams, raises the heart contraction blood pressure by 5 mm of mercury. If your blood pressure is normal, this should not concern you. However, if you have high blood pressure or a high cholesterol, this rise can increase your chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

http://www.drmirkin.com/archive/6541.html

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Considering I plan to only take 3.5g (actually 3.15g as it's easier to count out with the Solaray Licorice bottle I bought) for 14 days a month (during luteal phase) I'm not worried about hypertension, but I will check myself out over at the local pharmacy's free blood pressure machine every so often when I'm at the grocery store.

As for increasing estrogen levels I'm still looking into this....I'm actually not too concerned though...

Anyway, eek,.... I've written a whole lot here... I hope it's helpful. I still have much more to look into, like the Peony, which I believe I've actually looked into before...hmm...

=)

PS, Sorry for any spelling errors....eeek! I just fixed a couple.

I'm A Little Tea Pot

Well, the best thing is to try it and see what it does for you. If you feel abnormally bloated, cranky, tired and emotional, then it will probably mean that it's increasing your estrogen levels. Hopefully it will not

Good luck!!

kittykay

Thanks! I'll be looking out...



I've actual just found another interesting article where the physician mentions licorice as a "exact picture or metaphor in nature for what we need to do to heal this illness."

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The final therapy that I use for PCOS is a 50/50 mixture of the herbal extracts of Peony lactiflora and Glycyrrhiza uralensis (commonly known as licorice). There have been three studies in the literature showing that this combination of herbs can result in a complete remission in PCOS, and that it does so by normalizing adrenal function and reducing testosterone levels. It is important to use the correct dosages, which were also indicated in these studies.* I use the Mediherb extracts and give them at a dose of 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the mixture, 2-3 times per day. I usually use this mixture for six months with breaks of a week or two every 4-6 weeks.

http://www.westonaprice.org/askdoctor/pcos.html

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Before he gets to the final therapy, carbs are limited to 75 a day (excess insulin production) and he treats the whole system with glandular extracts for a year. Doses, etc, are mentioned.... one thing though, he says "[Licorice] is virtually the sweetest substance known to humankind." He hasn't tried the natural substance Stevia yet..which is 300 times sweeter and maybe less than one carb...