Licorice power: fights sore throats and fat?

Gargling with a licorice solution before surgery reduced postoperative sore throat and cough in a study appearing in the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia. Patients who gargled with licorice before surgery had fewer problems with postoperative sore throat and cough."Licorice, derived from the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, has been used for many millennia as an alternative medicine for treatment of inflammation, allergies, and gastric and duodenal ulcers," Dr. Anil Agarwal and colleagues write. Licorice contains compounds with anti-inflammatory, anti-irritant, and anti-cough effects. The diluted licorice solution used in study is easily made and inexpensive, at a cost of pennies per patient. And here's a website about licorice; recipes include a sore throat remedy. Might licorice even fight fat? Check this out.