Liquorice is a confectionery flavored with the extract of the roots of the liquorice plant.
The findings of the study suggested that a component of liquorice called glycyrrhizin could damage the placenta
--an organ that supplies the fetus with oxygen and food--and allow stress hormones to transfer from mother to baby.
High levels of the stress hormones could affect the growth of foetal brain development which has been related with behavioral disorders in children in previous studies.
Eight-year-old kids studied
The team from the Universities of Edinburgh and Helsinki conducted a study on eight-year-old kids born in Finland, where consumption of liquorice among women is common.
A total of 321 kids were given intelligence tests based on vocabulary, memory and spatial awareness. Their behavior was also assessed by means of an in-depth questionnaire completed by each mother.
The team noted that, of all, 64 kids were exposed to high levels of glycyrrhizin in the womb, 46 to moderate levels, and 211 to lower levels of the component.
Factors like the other foods consumed by women while pregnancy, their intelligence levels, or the environmental factors affecting the children were not taken into consideration in this study.
Higher liquorice impairs child’s IQ
The findings of the study showed that kids whose mothers ate more than 500 mg of glycyrrhizin per week--found in the equivalent of 100 g of pure liquorice--during pregnancy did not perform well in the intelligence tests when compared to other children.
The researchers, thus, concluded that women who ate more quantities of liquorice during pregnancy were more likely to have children with reduced intelligence levels and behavioral problems like shorter spans of attention.
Prof Jonathan Seckl, from the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Cardiovascular Science, said, "This shows that eating liquorice during pregnancy may affect a child's behaviour or IQ and suggests the importance of the placenta in preventing stress hormones that may affect cognitive (mental) development getting through to the baby."
Prof Katri Raikkonen, from the University of Helsinki in Finland, said, "Expectant mothers should avoid eating excessive amounts of liquorice."
Agency guidelines
According to the Food Standards Agency—a non-ministerial government department of the UK government responsible for protecting public health throughout the country--liquorice is not listed among foods that the pregnant women should avoid.
However, because of the confectionary's high sugar content, the agency advises pregnant women to keep a check on quantity of the sweets they consume.
The study is published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
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