Two employees in a TCM store in Dongyang, East China's Zhejiang Province, measure herbal medicine on October 31, 2018. File Photo: VCG

A Chinese research team has found in their recent study that liquiritin, one of the main components of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) licorice, can inhibit the replication of the novel coronavirus in cells. 

A medical team from Peking University and Academy of Military Medical Sciences used an artificial intelligence system to look for potential antiviral drugs from natural products or FDA approved drugs, and uncovered the potential anti-viral mechanism of liquiritin, which is one of the main components in traditional Chinese medicine licorice tablets (~0.2% by mass). 

The research result was published in bioRxiv, an open access preprint repository for the biological sciences, on Saturday. 

The study found that liquiritin exerts an anti-viral function by mimicking interferons and significantly inhibits replication of SARS-CoV-2.

In toxicity tests, ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) mice did not die after receiving a week of treatment with a 300 mg/kg dose. All the organ indexes were normal except liver and serum biochemical indexes after treatment.

As a result, the team recommended liquiritin as a competitive alternative for the treatment of COVID-19.

Researchers also expect that liquiritin will have a broad and effective antiviral effect against other viral pathogens such as HBV and HIV.