The Effects of the Honey-Roasting Process on the Pharmacokinetics of the Six Active Compounds of Licorice.

A convenient UPLC-MS/MS method was established to determine the contents of six bioactive compounds, namely, liquiritin apioside, liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin, and glycyrrhetinic acid, in rat plasma and their pharmacokinetics. By comparing the pharmacokinetic parameters of these compounds in rats by orally administering raw and honey-roasting licorice, the Cmax of isoliquiritin showed a significant decrease, while the AUC0-24h showed no significant differences. The Cmax and AUC0-24h of isoliquiritigenin were increased by 49.3% and 42.7% over those of the raw licorice group, respectively. These results indicate that the absorption of isoliquiritin in rats was reduced while the absorption of isoliquiritigenin was promoted in the honey-roasting process. These results may provide one explanation as to why licorice is more able to relieve cough, while honey-roasting licorice is better at invigorating qi and restoring pulse. Furthermore, the Cmax of glycyrrhetinic acid was increased, suggesting that it may enhance the tonic effect of licorice. Additionally, the amount of honey added in the honey-roasting process influenced the pharmacokinetic parameters of the six compounds whose absorption decreased when the 50% honey-roasting licorice water decoction was administered. These results provide an experimental basis for studying the influence of licorice processing on bioactive compound pharmacokinetics.