Hops Extract
Botanical Source:Humulus lupulus L
Plant Original: Hops
Part Used: Flowers
Specification: 10:1, Rutin 0.2% By UV, 4% Flavonoids By UV
Molecular Formula: C21H30O5
Molecular Weight: 204.3
Brief Introduction:
Common hop is a dioecious, perennial, herbaceous, climbing plant which sends up new shoots in early spring and dies back to a cold-hardy rhizome in autumn. It is native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The flower cones of the plant, known as hops, are used in the production of beer to impart bitterness and flavor, and for their preservative qualities. The extract is antimicrobial, which makes it useful for making natural deodorant.
Hops are the female flower clusters (commonly called seed cones or strobiles), of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine.
Functions:
1. Anti-cancer activity: New research into a flavonoid compound found only in hops shows that it may help prevent cancer if a method to improve its absorption in the body can be found. The anti-cancer activity of xanthohumol was first discovered around 10 years ago by a team at Oregon State University in the US.The researchers have identified other mechanisms of anti-cancer action. Xanthohumol, and other related flavonoids in hops, appear to inhibit the family of enzymes commonly called cytochromes P450 that can activate the cancer process. It also induces activity in a 'quinone reductase' process that helps the body detoxify carcinogens.
2. Anti-inflammatory effects: Humulon, one of the bitter constituents in the hop, has shown anti-inflammatory activity in mice by inhibiting activity against 12-O-tetradecanopyphorbo-13-acetate (TPA)-induced inflammation and arachidonic acid-induced inflammation.
3. Antimicrobial effects: In vitro, the essential oil and chloroform extracts of hops have demonstrated activity against Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and fungi (Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. interdigitale). Another study found that antibacterial effects associated with weak acids derived from hops increase with decreasing pH.
4. Antioxidant effects: Prenylated 2`-hydroxychalcones and flavanones from the inflorescences of the female hop plant were shown to inhibit peroxynitrite-mediated oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL). They are mainly found in beer, which contains up to 4mg/L of these polyphenols.
6. Anti proliferative activity: The bitter acids of hops may possess anti-proliferative activity, and the flavonoids may also have anti-proliferative properties. Hops have been characterized as a "broad spectrum" cancer chemo preventative agent in in vitro studies.
7. Hormonal effects: The hops component 8-prenylnaringenin has also exhibited estrogenic activity. A poorly described paper reported that women started menstruating two days after beginning hops collection; however, hormonal activity was not observed in a variety of hops extracts tested in animal models under controlled conditions. Furthermore, hops have shown significant competitive binding to the estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) and beta (ER beta) in vitro and to intracellular receptors for estradiol (ER) in human breast cancer cell. Hops, essential beer ingredients, are a source of prenylflavonoids, including 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN), one of the most potent phytoestrogens.
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