At present, no specific treatment has been identified for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus infection. German researchers assessed the antiviral potential of ribavirin, 6-azauridine, pyrazofurin, mycophenolic acid and glycyrrhizin against two clinical isolates of coronavirus (FFM-1 and FFM-2) from patients with SARS admitted to the clinical centre of Frankfurt University, Germany. Of all the compounds, glycyrrhizin, an active component of liquorice root, was the most active in inhibiting replication of the SARS-associated virus. These findings suggest that glycyrrhizin should be assessed for treatment of SARS.