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HOPS

Research & References

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Chadwick, L. R., Pauli, G. F., & Farnsworth, N. R. (2006). The pharmacognosy of Humulus lupulus L. (hops) with an emphasis on estrogenic properties. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 13(1-2), 119–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2004.07.006

 

Chin YC, Anderson HH, Alderton G, Lewis J. (1949). Anti-tuberculous activity and toxicity of lupulon for the mouse. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1949;70:158-162.

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Enders C. (1950). Zur Frage der Heilwirkung von Bier. Brauwissenschaft. 1950;3:161-164, 183-188.

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ESCOP. (1997). 'Lupuli strobulus.' Monographs on the Medicinal Uses of Plant Drugs. Exeter, U.K.: European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy.

 

Grieve, M. (1979). A Modern Herbal. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

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Hamel, P.B. and M.U. Chiltoskey. (1975). Cherokee Plants and Their Uses: A 400-Year History. Sylva, N.C.: Herald Publishing Co.

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Jiang Chuan-Hao, Sun Tao-Li, Xiang Da-Xiong, Wei Shan-Shan, Li Wen-Qun.  (2018).  Anticancer Activity and Mechanism of Xanthohumol: A Prenylated Flavonoid From Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) .  Frontiers in Pharmacology.  DOI=10.3389/fphar.2018.00530 

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Koetter U, Schrader E, Käufeler R, Brattström A. (2007). A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, prospective clinical study to demonstrate clinical efficacy of a fixed valerian hops extract combination (Ze 91019) in patients suffering from non-organic sleep disorder. Phytother Res. 2007;21(9):847-851.

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Kyrou, I., Christou, A., Panagiotakos, D. et al. (2002).  Effects of a hops (Humulus lupulus L.) dry extract supplement on self-reported depression, anxiety and stress levels in apparently healthy young adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover pilot study. Hormones 16, 171–180 (2017). https://doi.org/10.14310/horm.2002.1738

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Nikolic, D., Li, Y., Chadwick, L. R., & van Breemen, R. B. (2006). In vitro studies of intestinal permeability and hepatic and intestinal metabolism of 8-prenylnaringenin, a potent phytoestrogen from hops (Humulus lupulus L.). Pharmaceutical research, 23(5), 864–872. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-006-9902-8

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Olšovská, Jana & Bostikova, Vanda & Dušek, Martin & Jandovská, Vladimíra & Bogdanová, KateÅ™ina & Cermák, Pavel & Boštík, Pavel & Mikyška, Alexandr & KoláÅ™, Milan. (2016). HUMULUS LUPULUS L. (HOPS) – A VALUABLE SOURCE OF COMPOUNDS WITH BIOACTIVE EFFECTS FOR FUTURE THERAPIES. Military Medical Science Letters. 85. 19-30. 10.31482/mmsl.2016.004. 

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Schiller H, Forster A,Vonhoff C, Hegger M, Biller A, Winterhoff H.  (2006). Sedating effects of Humulus lupulus L. extracts. Phytomedicine. 2006;13(8):535–41.

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Sumiyoshi, M., & Kimura, Y. (2013). Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) extract inhibits obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet over the long term. British Journal of Nutrition, 109(1), 162-172. doi:10.1017/S000711451200061X

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Wichtl, M. and N.G. Bisset (eds.). (1994). Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals. Stuttgart: Medpharm Scientific Publishers.

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Yuan, Y., Qiu, X., Nikolić, D., Chen, S. N., Huang, K., Li, G., Pauli, G. F., & van Breemen, R. B. (2014). Inhibition of human cytochrome P450 enzymes by hops (Humulus lupulus) and hop prenylphenols. European journal of pharmaceutical sciences : official journal of the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences, 53, 55–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejps.2013.12.003

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Medicinal Uses

anxiety 

insomnia

restlessness

dyspepsia

intestinal cramps

lack of appetite

tuberculosis

leprosy

acute bacillary dysentery

silicosis

leprosy

asbestosis

metabolic syndrome

hair loss

earache

toothache

ulcers

indigestion

IBS

Crohn’s disease

cramping

menopause

menstrual cramps

stagnant digestion

eczema

dandruff

ringworm

sores

ulcers

skin injuries

acne

pain and itching

reduces sex drive

attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

neuralgia

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  • Herbalist Matthew Wood says that hops are suited to people with intense personalities and strong emotions that result in nervous exhaustion, insomnia, and worry.

  • The Cherokee used hops as a sedative, anti-rheumatic, analgesic, gynecological aid for breast and womb problems, and kidney and urinary aid for 'gravel' and inflamed kidneys.

  • The Delaware Indians used hops for ear and toothaches.

  • The Navajo used it for coughs and cold, and the Dakota for wound healing and against gastrointestinal disturbances.

  • In India, the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia recommends hops for restlessness associated with nervous tension, headache, and indigestion and reports its actions as a sedative, hypnotic, and antibacterial.

  • In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used to treat insomnia, restlessness, dyspepsia, intestinal cramps, and lack of appetite. In China, the ethanol fluid extract dosage form is the most commonly used preparation.

  • Lonicerus (1528–1586) praised the use of the young hops shoots for cleaning the blood, liver, and spleen.

  • Clarus (1864) used the female flowers to treat anorexia, gastritis and sleeplessness.

  • In Germany, hops is licensed as a standard medicinal tea, and about 70 prepared sedative medicines contain hops extract.

  • One study examined the effects of dry extracts of hop strobile (9:1) and valerian root (5:1), on patients suffering from sleep disorders. The study reported that hops lessened sleep disturbances when given in combination with valerian but it is unknown whether this action is caused by the hops, the valerian, or the synergy between the two.

  • The supplement to the Edinburgh New Dispensatory (1829) states the observation that inhabitants from London were less subject to bladder stones since they had been accustomed to adding hops to their beer.

  • Washing hair with beer was believed to increase hair growth. According to a personal note from Stieber to Madaus (1938), an infusion prepared from hops is an ideal hair care product and recommended washing the hair daily with a freshly-prepared hops tea to prevent hair loss, and hops oil was said to "restore the beauty of full hair, even to the bald".

  • In the Arabic world, Mesue the Younger (1015) wrote that hops helps in the purification of the blood, aids in reducing fever and purging yellow bile, and that it has 17 proposed anti-inflammatory properties.

  • In aromatherapy, hops have been used for skin care, breathing conditions, nervousness, nerve pain, and stress-related conditions.

  • In a recent randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-arm, parallel group trial, the effects of hops in combination with valerian were compared with just valerian. In this trial, 30 patients (16 women, 14 men) with non-organic insomnia received a hops-valerian combination, placebo, or just valerian for 4 weeks. Polysomnographic recordings were obtained at home with a portable recording device twice at baseline and after 4 weeks of use. Sleep latency (the time required to fall asleep) was reduced when hops was added to the valerian formulation (Koetter et al, 2007).

  • Lupulone was tested as a treatment for tuberculosis, as it has the highest in vitro effect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis of all the hops constituents. Enders (1950) reduced tubercular infection in mice treated with lupulone. And statistics in England from the first half of the last century showed that mortality from tuberculosis in brewery workers was 30% of the average.

  • Metabolic syndromes, which include insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes, affect as many as 30 percent of the population in the United States. Metabolic syndromes often negatively affect heart health as well. About 1,000 polyphenolic substances have been found in hop strobiles. Many of those polyphenols have been shown to have a beneficial effect on cholesterol, reduce inflammation, and support heart health. 

  • Hops is regularly used by herbalists in poultice form as an anti-inflammatory for arthritis and sore joints (Rodale, 1998).

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Constituents​

  • resinous bitter principles (530%), mostly a-bitter acids (humulones 210%) and b-bitter acids (lupulones 216%) and their oxidative degradation products (2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol) 

  • humulone and lupulinic acid (bitter principles)

  • choline (B-vitamin, liver regulator)

  • asparagine (demulcent, diuretic)

  • polyphenolic condensed tannins (24%)

  • tannins, resin, valerianic acid (formed during storage, preserves beer)

  • volatile oil (0.351.0%), mainly

    • monoterpenes

    • sesquiterpenes (b-caryophyllene, farnesene, humulene, b-myrcene)

  • chalcones (xanthohumol)

  • flavonoids (kaempferol, quercetin, rutin)

  • phenolic acids

  • amino acids

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Energetics/ Organoleptics 

  • FLAVOR: bitter, pungent

  • ENERGETICS: cooling, dry

  • ELEMENT: air

  • CHAKRAS:  Opens the 6th chakra, believed to bring out the goodness, virtue and happiness in people (Rosemary Gladstar)

  • POLARITY: yang

  • PLANET INFLUENCE: the Sun and Jupiter

  • MAGICAL PROPERTIES:  A sachet filled with hops flowers kept in the pillow is believed to prevent nightmares. Some believe that if you combine hops with calendula flowers and place them in the pillow, it will encourage lucky number dreams. Mothers have boiled hops flowers in water to wash the nursery room and bring peaceful sleep to children who often awaken during the night.

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History

  • Its common name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon "hoppan" (to climb). Its species named "lupulus" is derived from Latin 'lupus' meaning "wolf", based on the plant’s habit of climbing on other plants as a wolf does a sheep.

  • Before that it was used in making beers and breads, and was also enjoyed as a salad vegetable.

  • One of the most prominent patients treated with hops was George the III, King of the United Kingdom (1738–1820), who was supposedly bedded on a mattress filled with hops to calm him.

  • Abraham Lincoln was also said to have used a pillow filled with hops to help him sleep.

  • It was believed that hops acted through its strong and heavy odor, causing somnolence (drowsiness).

  • According to legend, King Wenceslas IV in 1406 permitted the incorporation of the hops cone into the coat of arms of the brewers in recognition of the rejuvenating effects of a cold brewery sludge bath.

  • Before trendy bars started highlighting their hoppy brews, the hops plant was used as a traditional herbal medicine. With their aromatic and pungent scent, hops strobiles have been prized for their ability to help people relax. This use dates back thousands of years, at least since the ninth century. 

  • Breweries throughout the Pacific Northwest that specialize in bitter India Pale Ales offer a range of IPAs with detailed descriptions highlighting the citrus and fruity undertones lent by various varieties of hops.

  • One of the most widely known and studied medicinal properties of hops is its ability to induce sleep. Lupulin, the fine yellow resinous substance of the female flowers from hops, was first isolated by the French pharmacist Planche in 1813. Reports on systematic chemical investigation of lupulin can be found in the United States as early as 1820. Ives, a physician, reported from his own experience that it frequently induced sleep and “quiets great nervous irritation.” Planche praised its aromatic, tonic, and narcotic (sleep-promoting) virtues. It provokes sleep and r reduces excessive nervous irritation, without causing constipation which was a great advantage over opium.

  • Sleep improvements with a hops-valerian combination are also associated with improved quality of life. In a recent randomized, placebo controlled trial, the treatment appeared safe and did not produce rebound insomnia upon discontinuation during the study.

  • Circumstantial evidence over many years, including menstrual disturbances reported to be common among female hops-pickers, linked hops with potential estrogenic activity.  The estrogenic principle in hops extract is 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN).  In an animal model, it reversed the ovariectomy-induced rise in skin temperature.  A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study over 12 weeks with 67 menopausal women showed a significant reduction in menopausal discomforts.

  • The leaves yield a brown dye and the stems have been used in the weaving of baskets. Due to its fibrous stems, it has also been used to make a coarse cloth, rope, and paper.

  • Cosmetically, hops has been used in creams to soften the skin and as a hair conditioner.

  • Like the hop resins, the essential oils are secondary metabolites of the hop plant secreted in the lupulin glands. By definition, the hop oil fraction is the portion of the hop material that is volatile.  While the hop resins give beer its bitterness, the essential oils give beer its distinct aroma and flavor.

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Common Names

Hop or hops

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Botanical Name

Humulus lupulus L.

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Family

Cannabaceae Family (cousin to cannabis).  Older taxonomists included the genera Humulus in the mulberry or Moraceae family.

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Parts Used

The resin (lupulin) from the dried, female-flowering parts (strobiles).

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Therapeutic Actions

analgesic

anaphrodisiac

anthelmintic

anti-biotic

anti-bacterial (against gram-positive bacteria)

anti-inflammatory

anti-microbial

anti-oxidant

anti-proiferative

anti-pyretic

anti-rheumatic​

anti-spasmodic

anti-septic

anxiolytic

aphrodisiac

aromatic bitter

carminative

demulcent

digestive

diuretic

hypnotic

narcotic

phytoestrogenic

relaxing nervine

sedative

spasmolytic

soporific

stomachic

tuberculocidal

Proper Use

 

PLANT PREPARATIONS

tea, tincture, fermentation​

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  • Infusion or decoction: 1-2 grams, 3 times daily (best prepared as a long infusion, 30 minutes minimum steeping time)

  • Fluid extract 1:1 (g/ml): 0.5 ml.

  • Tincture (dried strobiles): 1:5, 60% alcohol, 1.5-3mL, 3 times daily

  • Native dry extract 6-8:1 (w/w): 0.06-0.08 g (60-80 mg).

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  • Hops can be made into a tea (infusion), but due to the overt bitterness, tea is often hard to consume on a long-term basis. 

  • Many herbalists prefer to use hops as a tincture, to minimize the amount of bitter liquid that needs to be consumed. 

  • Capsules are an easy way to take bitter medicine. 

  • Use strobiles within six months of drying (for tea or tincture). 

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Formulary

  • Dried strobiles can be added to pillows or sachets and smelled at bedtime to promote sleep and relaxation. 

  • Hops can be used in a bath before going to bed to reduce insomnia. This is especially good for people who can’t stand the smell of hops in a pillow.

  • Hops can be used as a fomentation (hot infusion on a cloth) or poultice on boils, irritated skin, muscle spasms, arthritis and pain in the lower back.

  • For many, hops are often served as beer or as a flavoring in kombucha or other fermented beverages. 

  • Humulus and valerian are traditionally combined together in a formula to promote sleep.

  • Use a muslin bag filled with hops held against the ear to help with ear pain.

  • Valerian, Passion Flower, Hops, Vervain, Black Cohosh, Lobelia, Hypericum and Skullcap are all useful sedatives and have been used together in different combinations.

  • Hops can also be used in healing rituals through incense, pillows, and sachets. Recipe for sleep sachet: Combine chamomile, hops, lavender, peppermint, rosemary, thyme, vervain.

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RECIPES

Hops Seasoned Curly Fries

Hopped-up Bruschetta

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AS A DREAM CHARM 

Ingredients (a pinch or two of each of the following):

  • peppermint 

  • cinnamon 

  • lemon verbena 

  • marigold 

  • vervain 

  • hops 

  • small draw-string bag about 1-2 inches deep

 

If you find you need a little help in lucid dreaming, or you want to learn the answer to a specific problem, this charm bag is a great tool. It soothes the waking mind and helps your sleeping mind to focus. 

 

During the full moon, put the bag together and tied tightly. Before sleep each night, rub the bag over your third eye (center of forehead) and concentrate on the question, problem or situation. Then place the bag under your pillow. Continue to concentrate on the situation as you drift off.

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Cultivation

Hops is a climbing perennial herb with male and female flowers on separate plants, native to Europe, Asia, and North America.

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It grows vigorously from the end of April to the beginning of July in the temperate climate zone.  When the plant reaches a certain height, it starts to blossom. A second trigger for the advent of blossoming is the length of the day. Too far south the days are too short for hops to blossom; too far north the climate is adverse. Hence, hops grows only at certain latitudes (38º to 51º latitude).  This explains why hops cultivation in North America is primarily done in areas like Oregon and Washington. Although Northern California has a history of hops cultivation (e.g., Hopland, CA), today the 3 important regions are Idaho with 10%, Oregon with 15%, and Washington with 75% of the annual harvest.

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Only the female hop flowers are cultivated in order to prevent the ripening of fruits (nuts), which are heavy and of no commercial value. In breeding programs, male plants are essential.  Many female flowers form an inflorescence, called strobiles, which consist of membranous stipules and bracts that are attached to a zigzag, hairy axis.

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Contradictions​

  • Avoid therapeutic dosages of hops with people taking pharmaceutical sedatives, hypnotics, or anti-depressants. 

  • Caution during pregnancy. Humulus contains the compound 8-prenylnaringenin, a phytoestrogenic compound shown to have selective estrogen receptor–modulating activity both in animals and in vitro studies. No studies have been identified that test the safety of hops in either pregnancy or breastfeeding.

  • Contraindicated in cases of fibrocystic breast disease or hormono-dependent cancers. 

  • Caution in someone with depression

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