Liquorice delivers benefits

A LIQUORICE plant extract may cut the chance of hot flushes in menopausal women by 80 per cent, research suggests.

The extract, licogen, also appears to slow down the rate at which bones become thinner – something that can lead to osteoporosis in older women.

In a study, experts at the University of Southern California gave women 50mg of licogen as a daily pill and monitored their health for a year.

They were compared with women given a dummy drug and another group of women given 100mg of licogen a day.

The small study, of 51 women, showed no extra benefits from 100mg over 50mg.

However, women in the 50mg group saw their hot flushes drop by 80 per cent, from an average of around ten a day to around two.

Those women experienced fewer hot flushes at night – also known as night sweats – with a drop from around four a night to around two.

Dr Marsha Baker presented the findings at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Orlando, Florida.