Effect of glycyrrhizin on viral replication and quasispecies in patients with type C chronic hepatitis

The effects of glycyrrihizin on liver-function, amounts of HCV RNA and viral complexity in patients with chronic hepatitis C were examined. The subjects were 27 type C chronic hepatitis patients who did not respond to previous interferon therapy. They were given 60 mi of Stronger Neo-Minophagen C, a preparation of glycyrrhizin combined with glycine and cysteine, three times a week for 16 weeks. The treatment was effective in 20 patients (74.1%), whose serum levels of aminotransferase fell to one half of that before treatment, but was not effective in seven patients (25.9%). No significant differences were noted at the beginning of the therapy in the backgrounds (age, sex, serum levels of aminotransferase, etc.) of the effective and non-effective groups. Also, no significant differences in HCV RNA quantity and viral complexity of HCV RNA were observed between the two groups. The results suggest that glycyrrhizin improves serum ALT levels without changing the amounts of HCV RNA and viral complexity, suggesting that the effect might depend on host factors such as the immune response. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.