Liquorice Intoxication Can Lead to Cardiac Arrest!

Figure 1

Both cortisol and aldosterone bind with equal affinity to mineralocorticoid receptors that are activated predominantly with aldosterone. Type 2 11-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11-βHSD) converts cortisol to its inactive form, cortisone, and evokes corticosteroid specificity. By inhibitory effects of Glycyrrhiza glabra and glycyrrhizin on type 2 11-βHSD, the mineralocorticoid receptors are activated by cortisol, leading to accumulation of glucocorticoids with anti-inflammatory and mineralocorticoid properties, hypokalemia, and mineralocorticoid-related hypertension.