Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Aug 04, 2026 58 minutes ago
Dry eye disease affects millions of people worldwide, causing persistent discomfort, burning, irritation, blurry vision, and a constant feeling that something is stuck in the eye. While artificial tears and anti-inflammatory eye drops can provide relief, many patients continue to struggle because current treatments often address only part of the problem. Now, researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, and the Department of Ophthalmology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, China, have discovered that glycyrrhizic acid—a phytochemical derived from licorice root—may tackle several of the disease's damaging processes at the same time.
Researchers found that glycyrrhizic acid from licorice protected the eye by reducing inflammation, oxidative stress,
and tissue damage in dry eye disease
A Natural Compound That Targets Multiple Causes
Instead of focusing only on symptoms, the research investigated whether glycyrrhizic acid could protect the eye from inflammation, oxidative stress, cell damage, and breakdown of the protective surface layer. The scientists tested the compound in both mice with dry eye disease and laboratory-grown human corneal epithelial cells exposed to conditions that mimic the disease.
The results were encouraging. Animals treated with glycyrrhizic acid experienced healthier corneas, increased tear production, and improved numbers of goblet cells, which produce the mucus needed to keep the eye properly lubricated. The treatment also reduced inflammation throughout the eye surface.
Protecting Eye Cells from Self-Destruction
One of the study's most important findings involved pyroptosis, a highly inflammatory form of programmed cell death. During dry eye disease, stressed cells release danger signals that trigger a chain reaction involving HMGB1, lysosomal damage, cathepsin B, and inflammatory proteins such as NLRP3, IL-1β, IL-18, and activated caspase-1. This process causes further injury to the delicate eye surface.
Researchers found that glycyrrhizic acid interrupted this destructive pathway. It prevented HMGB1 from moving out of the cell nucleus, stabilized lysosomes, reduced cathepsin B release, and significantly lowered the levels of multiple proteins responsible for pyroptosis. This suggests the compound helps stop inflammatory cell death before it can spread damage across the eye surface.
Fighting Oxidative Stress and Restoring Cell Energy
Another major benefit was the compound's ability to reduce oxidative stress. In dry eye disease, damaged mitochondria produce excessive reactive oxygen species that attack cells and worsen inflammation.
This
Medical News report highlights that glycyrrhizic acid not only lowered harmful reactive oxygen species but also restored healthy mitochondrial function. The treatment improved mitochondrial membrane potential, increased ATP production—the energy currency of ce
lls—and reduced mitochondrial oxidative damage. At the same time, it activated the protective Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1 antioxidant pathway, allowing cells to strengthen their own natural defenses. When researchers blocked Nrf2 activity, many of glycyrrhizic acid's protective effects were weakened, confirming this pathway plays a crucial role.
Repairing the Eye's Protective Barrier
The researchers also discovered that glycyrrhizic acid helped preserve the eye's natural protective barrier. Dry eye disease often damages proteins such as ZO-1 that keep surface cells tightly connected, making the eye more vulnerable to irritation and infection.
Treatment restored ZO-1 expression, reduced inflammatory TNF-α and MMP9 levels, and significantly improved wound healing and cell migration. In the animal studies, the compound also reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and restored epithelial thickness, demonstrating that it actively supports tissue repair rather than simply easing symptoms.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that glycyrrhizic acid could become a promising multi-target treatment for dry eye disease by simultaneously reducing inflammation, preventing destructive inflammatory cell death, restoring mitochondrial energy production, boosting antioxidant defenses, and repairing the eye's protective surface barrier. Although these findings are based on laboratory and animal studies and require confirmation in larger human clinical trials, they provide compelling evidence that this naturally derived compound could eventually offer a more comprehensive therapeutic strategy than many currently available treatments.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/9/4153
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/herbs-and-phytochemicals
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/ophthalmology-(eye-diseases) 
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