Ammonium Glycyrrhizate uses in natural skin care products.
These ingredients are used to enhance the appearance of dry or damaged skin by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness. They are also used to impart a flavor to cosmetics and personal care products.
Glycyrrhizin, one of the main components found in licorice, is believed to contribute to the herb’s healing properties. Laboratory studies have reported that glycyrrhizin reduces inflammation, promotes secretion of mucous (usually through coughing), soothes irritation, protects the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, and stimulates the activity of the adrenal glands (regulates cortisol, the stress hormone).
Glycyrrhiza (the dried rhizome and roots of various species of Glycyrrhiza) contains triterpene glycoside called Glycyrrhizin, Glycyrrhizic acid, or Glycyrrhizinic acid (salts are called Glycyrrhizin) which is converted to glycyrrhetinic acid (the aglycone) and two moles of gucuronic acid (the glycone) on hydrolysis. Glycyrrhizinic acid is potentially 50 times sweeter than sucrose. Licorice (liquorice in British spelling) is the alteration of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a Mediterranean perennial plant with blue pea like blossoms.
Glycyrrhiza is the active principle for sweetening, flavoring and pharmaceutical applications. It is effective in treatment of peptic ulcer. It is used in brewing and for confectionery and tobacco flavorings. It is frequently used in medicines to mask the unpleasant flavors. It has been used medicinally for highly effective coughs and as a mild laxative. It promotes the ejection of mucus or exudate from the lungs, bronchi, and trachea; sometimes extended to antitussives. Glycyrrhetinic acid has corticosteroid-like structure, thus is useful as an anti-inflammatory and co-emulsifier to treat skin disorders and in cosmetics.
Cosmetic and skin care uses:
Anti-Inflammatory
Anti-allergic
Antibacterial
Antiviral
Glabridin (the main isoflavan compound in fraction of licorice extract), and glabrene ( the main isoflavene) demonstrates significant antioxidant and estrogen-like activities. Some data suggest that they protect low-density lipoprotein against lipid peroxidation.
Ammonium Glycyrrhizate, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Disodium Glycyrrhizate, Trisodium Glycyrrhizate, Methyl Glycyrrhizate and Potassium Glycyrrhizinate are salts and esters of Glycyrrhizic Acid. In cosmetics and personal care products, these ingredients are used in the formulation of makeup, fragrance, hair care, skin care, shaving, personal hygiene and suntan products.
Today there is a very great deal of interest among members of the global natural products community in investigating new plant constituents. Recent studies demonstrate that liquorice extracts are useful in the treatment of dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis, with an efficacy comparable to that of corticosteroids. In this work, niosomes made up of surfactants (Tween 85 and Span 20) and cholesterol at various concentrations were prepared to investigate the potential application of niosomes for the delivery of ammonium glycyrrhizinate (AG), useful for the treatment of various inflammatory based diseases.
Vesicles were characterized evaluating dimensions, potential, anisotropy, drug entrapment efficiency, stability, cytotoxicity evaluation and skin tolerability. Release profiles of ammonium glycyrrhizinate/niosomes were evaluated in vitro using cellulose membranes. The best formulation was used to evaluate the in vitro/in vivo efficacy of the ammonium glycyrrhizinate/niosomes in murine and human models of inflammation. The AG-loaded non-ionic surfactant vesicles showed no toxicity, good skin tolerability and were able to improve the drug anti-inflammatory activity in mice. Furthermore, an improvement of the anti-inflammatory activity of the niosome delivered drug was observed on chemically induced skin erythema in humans.
Three varieties of the species have been reported; Spanish licorice and Italian licorice are assigned to G. glabra var. typica, Russian licorice is G. glabra var. glandulifera, and Persian and Turkish licorices are G. glabra var. violacea. About 90 kinds of phenolic compounds have been isolated from the plants. About 50 of them are substituted with isoprenoid group(s), e.g., 3-methyl-2-butenyl (prenyl) group, 2,2-dimethylpyran ring, etc. These G. glabra could be classified into two groups with the constituents of isoprenoid-substituted flavonoids. Type I licorice is Spanish and Russian licorices. The main isoprenoid-substituted flavonoid of the plants is a pyranoisoflavan, glabridin. The 5-position of most flavonoids from the type I plants is unsubstituted, glabrene, glabrol, 3-hydroxyglabrol. Type II licorice is Chinese and Kyrghiz G. glabra. From these plants, both 5-unsubstituted flavonoids and 5-oxygenated flavonoids (e.g., 3′,8-diprenylated dalbergioidin, have been isolated. Nevertheless, most flavonoids from these plants are 5-hydroxy- or 5-methoxy-flavonoids.
