Anti-inflammatory activity and safety of compound glycyrrhizin in ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that compound glycyrrhizin may have beneficial effects on ulcerative colitis by inhibiting inflammation. However, the credibility of the evidence and safety for this practice are unclear. Therefore, we aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity and safety of compound glycyrrhizin in the treatment of ulcerative colitis. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database and CQVIP Database were searched for this review. Twenty-three qualified studies involving 2060 participants were included. There was a significant association of compound glycyrrhizin with TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17, adverse effects rate and recurrence rate. These results supported the anti-inflammatory activity of compound glycyrrhizin. In addition, compound glycyrrhizin can alleviate the adverse effects of conventional drugs (e.g. sulfasalazine), but it can also lead to edema. Further studies are required on the safety of compound glycyrrhizin and its mitigative effects on the adverse effects of conventional drugs.

Keywords

• Ulcerative colitis
• Glycyrrhizin
• Plant-derived bioactive compounds
• Anti-inflammatory
• Meta-analysis