Liquorice efficiency in Covid-19 prevention not proven: Doctors

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some internet pages claim liquorice remedy is effective against coronavirus, but health experts reject the claim and ask people not to believe in such rumors and strictly follow the health guidelines.
Claim: Liquorice is effective in eliminating Covid-19
Verdict: The effectiveness of liquorice for Covid-19 patients has not been proven yet.
Liquorice or licorice is the common name of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted.
After emerging in the Wuhan city of China, the COVID-19 virus has spread around the globe. Hundreds of millions of people have been infected with Covid-19 and more than 6.3 million have died globally.
The first positive case of the virus in Afghanistan was detected in western Herat province in February 2020. Then the disease spread across the country.
Millions of people were infected and hundreds of thousands killed following the spread of the coronavirus worldwide, including in Afghanistan.
Imna News Agency released an article titled “Treat coronavirus with licorice root”.
“The president of Turkmenistan suggested the licorice root a remedy to the new type of coronavirus,” the article said. According to the report, active substance “glycyrrhizic acid” is present in licorice.
The source wrote with the spread of the pandemic, the entire world was striving to find treatment of the virus.
Mehr News website also published a report titled: “The impact of the compound in licorice in the prevention of Covid-19”.
“In a new study, researchers at the University of Medicine in Duisburg, Germany proved that a phytochemical extracted from licorice root known as glycyrrhizin is capable of inhibiting the corona virus,” he added.
Also, Pharmacola website wrote “What is the impact of licorice in the treatment of coronavirus”. As the herbal has various vitamins and it boosts the body’s immune system, is effective in destroying Covid-19.
But doctors rejected the effectiveness of licorice in treatment of coronavirus.
Dr. Hashmatullah Faizi, trainer and in charge of quality control in Afghan-Japan, told Pajhwok that no cure except vaccine could be effective in preventing Covid-19 disease. He said some drugs and herbals could be effective in boosting the body’s immune system.
He added: “Avoid any type of self-medication and do not use any type of medicine without consulting a doctor, because it can develop side effects.”
Dr. Faridulla Omari, trainer and specialist at the Antani hospital, said: “Licorice is a fruitful plant, but we cannot say it is effective in treatment of coronavirus.”
According to Omari, licorice can boost the immune system because medicine is made from it.
“When you are infected with coronavirus, you should use enough fruits and warm liquids and try not to use herbals because they have not been approved yet,” he said.
sa/ma