Zen Peddler Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 i find the mood elevation and relaxed feeling I get from licorice root and tea most interesting.Some articles suggest its a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Other studies suggest that the mood elevation of licorice was not altered by a chemical that supresses Serotonin release and believe therefore it is mediated by norepinephrine and dopamine. Still other research suggests licorice contains MAOI constituents, selective to MAOI - A over MAOI B.Anyone got any ideas? Surely an SNRI would not result in feelings of relaxation and calm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planthelper Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 i don't like licorice, even since childhood, i even get a bit sick from it (psychosomatic responce?)somewhere, i even picked up, it contains some stuff, which is bad for us??however, one of my ex gf, loved the stuff, like crazy and seemed to get uplifted by it (she would suddenly start polishing the helmet, after consuming it). <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_newimprovedwinkonclear.gif<___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_blush.png<___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_cool.pngshe aswell, would always say, if it was good stuff, or not, so i assume, it must have done something, but proly the word sugar has to do with it aswell. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodDragon Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 (edited) I come from a country where licorice is almost a national dish. Love it.The trouble is, too much gives me headaches. Probably not surprising, as the glycyrrhizinic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid in it is known to raise blood pressure.Consume with care. Edited February 12, 2013 by WoodDragon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wophezuta Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 The reason it can cause high blood pressure is that glycyrrhizin produces a dop in potassium levels which can also result in irregular heartbeat and in some cases, congestive heart failure. It is a dose related response, which means the more you eat, the more pronounced the effects. People over 40 years old are more prone to this. Per FDA info, 5 pieces a day for 2 weeks straight is enough to cause trouble. Best enjoyed in moderation. Interestingly, the city I live in here in the US Midwest has a store that specializes in licorice, and the stuff they import from Oz is considered some of the best. I love it. Just not everyday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auxin Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I never tried it in me but an old female friend used to use the real plant derived licorice as a mood altering female aphrodisiac. She said it also worked in her female friends who tried it back in the 70's but I never got independent confirmation from other girls because the stuff is rare in the US these days. American products are mostly made from star anise or petroleum now.Any observations on the female aphrodisiac aspect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CβL Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Excuse me? Petroleum-based licorice?!?!?! I notice licorice produces a mood elevation in me - perhaps on par with dark chocolate. It's also really bad to eat it during pregnancy IIRC - they did a study in perhaps Denmark, and found that it was bad, for some reason.But other than that, it seems fine for me - so I occasionally eat it. I ALSO notice, that it produces satiation/fullness in me. I'm one of those people who don't feel a strong "fullness" after eating sugar or carbs - I can just keep eating them (unless I've been exercising heavily lately) - I also have an extremely hard time just "saving" it for next time, so I prefer to avoid them altogether. But I found with dark chocolate, or licorice - I feel full well before I would otherwise. So when I eat sugar, I try to restrict it to these two, as they produce fullness feelings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Peddler Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 Thanks for the replies. The blood pressure effects were why I take it. Its not the potassium depletion that raises blood pressure - that is a by product of the increase in aldosterone and sodium which pushes the balance with potassium out. Licorice causes psuedo hyperaldosteronism.but on interested in its mood-based side effects and am leaning toward dopamine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coin Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 it boosts cortisol? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wophezuta Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I stand corrected on the potassium mechanism, Zen. You got me curious about the mood-based effects and so I did a bit of looking around on this lazy day. I do think you're probably right about the dopamine connection. In one animal study from the Indian Journal of Pharmacology, they gave mice glycyrrhizin and found it to be as effective as imipramine and fluoxetine as an antidepressant agent. Co-administration of p-chlorophenylalanine, which is an inhibitor of serotonin synthesis, did not alter the antidepressant effect. But sulpiride, which is a selective D2 receptor antagonist, and prazosin, which is an a1-adrenoceptor antagonist, did reduce the antidepressant effect. Which likely means the effect is a combination of adrenergic and dopaminergic effects, at least for the mice in the study. Could very well be a similar mechanism at work in humans. I've never noticed the effect, but maybe I need to eat a bit more licorice or try the root and tea, as you have. Next time I notice a sad looking mouse, I might toss some her way....Evaluation of antidepressant-like activity of glycyrrhizin in miceYear : 2005 | Volume : 37 | Issue : 6 | Page : 390-394Dinesh Dhingra, Amandeep SharmaIndia Journal of Pharmacology Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Peddler Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 thansk for posting that dude - that might explain it. have any of you guys found something similar when you drink a tea of the ground root? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wophezuta Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 An interesting question that came to mind is whether one could co-administer an herb with a1-adrenoceptor antagonist action in order to reduce undesired adrenergic effects of the licorice, thus emphasizing the dopamine side of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Peddler Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Maybe - a good question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewind Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 On 2/13/2013 at 4:27 PM, wophezuta said: The reason it can cause high blood pressure is that glycyrrhizin produces a dop in potassium levels which can also result in irregular heartbeat and in some cases, congestive heart failure. It is a dose related response, which means the more you eat, the more pronounced the effects. People over 40 years old are more prone to this. Per FDA info, 5 pieces a day for 2 weeks straight is enough to cause trouble. Best enjoyed in moderation. Interestingly, the city I live in here in the US Midwest has a store that specializes in licorice, and the stuff they import from Oz is considered some of the best. I love it. Just not everyday.Don't mix licorice with SSRI'sHeart Problems linked to SSRI antidepressants Quote The study, which involved data from more than 38,000 adults, found that patients taking Celexa or certain other antidepressants called serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) had a significantly longer QT interval, which is an indicator of abnormal heart rhythms. The disturbance increased with greater doses of the drugs.In all, nearly one in five patients taking these drugs had longer QT intervals. In an updated drug safety communication from the FDA, it’s noted that Celexa “use at any dose is discouraged in patients with certain conditions because of the risk of QT prolongation.”“Changes in the electrical activity of the heart (specifically, prolongation of the QT interval of the electrocardiogram [ECG]) can lead to a risk of an abnormal heart rhythm called Torsade de Pointes, which can be fatal. Patients at particular risk for developing prolongation of the QT interval include those with underlying heart conditions and those who are predisposed to having low levels of potassium and magnesium in the blood. A friend's mother became addicted to licorice tea, and ended up in hospital with abnormal heart rhythms from licorice, she would make two or three teapots a day and drink it almost constantly, like water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wophezuta Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Good advice on the SSRI/licorice combo. Not a great idea.There are also some other type of meds that can cause low potassium that one would probably best avoid in combination with licorice. This would include certain diuretics ("water pills"), some medicines used for asthma or COPD (beta-adrenergic agonist type drugs like bronchodilators, or theophylline) and aminoglycosides type antibiotics. If you're already taking one of these, adding licorice could tip the scale further. I have read that 1 of 5 patients admitted to hospitals in the US (not sure about Oz) have low potassium.Bottom line is moderation and be aware if you're already in a position of having low potassium.That being said, I find licorice much more interesting than I once did, Zen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coin Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Quote Isoliquiritigenin has been found to potent (65 times higher affinity than diazepine) GABA-A benzodiapine receptor positive allosteric modulator.[1]IsoliquiritigeninI think there's more to the picture though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coin Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Quote The results demonstrated that the isoflavans glabridin and 4'-O-methylglabridin (4'-OMeG) and the isoflavene glabrene inhibited serotonin re-uptake by 60, 53 and 47%, respectively ...Inhibition of serotonin re-uptake by licorice constituents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wophezuta Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Wow.....licorice seems to do it all. What system doesn't it work on? Amazing mix of properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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