The Protective Role of Glycyrrhizin on Ethanol- Damaged B92 Glial Cells in Vitro

Glycyrrhizin is one of the most important pharmacological compounds of the Licorice plant which has anti-inflammatory properties. Ethanol is one of the most damaging substances in the brain, Increasing use of this substance has increases the amount of nerve damage. Therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of glycyrrhizin on ethanol-damaged B92 glial cells.

Methods

The present experimental study was performed in 2018. B92 cells were obtained from the Pasteur institute cell bank of Iran, (1×106 cell/ml) were transferred to 96 plates and incubated with various glycyrrhizin concentration (5, 10 and 25 µM) for 24 hours. At that point, the cells were exposed to absolute ethanol for 80 minutes at concentrations of 86 mM. Finally, the viability of the cells was evaluated with neutral red (NR) uptake and MTT tests.

Glycyrrhizin reduced the level of the cell membrane and mitochondrial damages induced by ethanol in a dose-dependent manner, so that 10 and 25 µM concentration of glycyrrhizin reduced the membrane damage and the mitochondrial performance damage, significantly. Nevertheless, Glycyrrhizin at concentration of 5 µM didn’t show any protective role so that at this concentration the growth and proliferation of cells reduced.

The results of the present study indicated that licorice extract (glycyrrhizin) had a positive effect on survival rate of the cells and improves the vital capabilities of ethanol-damaged glial cells. Hence, glycyrrhizin dose dependently can protect the B92 cells against ethanol-induced damage.