The researchers conducted a study where 379 adolescents were compared while at the age of 13. The youths who were exposed to great amounts of licorice in the uterus performed worse during cognitive reasoning tests compared to those who were not exposed to great amounts of licorice. The difference among the test groups was quite significant, and it resulted in a reduced IQ score of around seven IQ points.
The youths who were exposed to high amounts of licorice in uterus also performed poorly on tasks which dealt with the measurement of memory capacity and had more symptoms of ADHD. Results clearly show that the girls also started puberty earlier after being exposed to such high amounts.
The glycyrrhizin compound blocks the activity of an enzyme, which controls the levels of cortisol. In normal cases, these enzymes work by converting cortisol to its inactive state, known as cortisone, before passing to the fetus through the placenta.
During an earlier lab study, the same group of researchers also found that due to very low glycyrrhizin doses effectively blocked the enzyme, allowing cortisol to pass into the placenta, which was later written by the scientists in the study.
However, the researchers noted that they could not determine in the study if a specific cut-off amount exists for how much licorice can be consumed by a pregnant woman or if there is a certain time during pregnancy when women can avoid the particular candy.
Stay tuned for more updates on the effect of licorice on pregnant women!