Glycyrrhizinic acid (GL), also known as glycyrrhizin, is a triterpene saponin, a natural product found on the root of Glycyrrhyza glabra L. ("licquorice"), used worldwide as sweetener and in the traditional eastern medicines. This review is focused on a series of new derivatives synthesized using GL and its aglycon, glycyrrhetinic acid (GLA), as starting materials, the pharmacological activities described for those compounds, as well as new activities reported for GL and GLA themselves.
glycyrrhizin; glycyrrhetic acid; glycyrrhetinic acid; licquorice; organic synthesis; pharmacological activity
