Lupulus humulus Mill.; and others. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as H. lupus L. Cannabaceae Common hop(s); hop Lupuli flos; Lupuli strobilus. ‘Lupulin’ is the powder composed of the glandular trichomes separated from the strobiles (conical flowers). Dried female inflorescence More than 1000 chemical constituents have been identified from hops. The most significant include the volatile constituents, which include humulene, myrcene, β-caryophyllene and 2-methly-3-buten-2-ol, the α- and β-bitter acids (di- and tri-prenylated phloroglucinol derivatives respectively), the prenylated flavonoids, and the polyphenols (e.g. gallocatechin).The main α-bitter acids are humulone, cohumulone and adhumulone, and the main β-acids are lupulone, colupulone and adlupulone. These isomerise naturally and on heating to produce isohumulones and isolupulones. The most important prenylated flavonoids include 8-prenylnaringenin, xanthohumol, isoxanthohumol, 6-isopentenylnaringenin. Other flavonoids present include astragalin, kaempferol, quercetin, quercitrin and rutin (Chadwick et al. 2006; Pharmaceutical Press Editorial Team 2013; Zanoli and Zavatti 2008). Human studies supporting the traditional uses of hops are limited. Clinical trials have investigated the sedative effects of hops only in combination with other botanical drugs, mainly valerian. A randomised, double-blind controlled trial in subjects suffering from sleep disorders showed equivalent efficacy and tolerability between a hop-valerian preparation and a benzodiazepine (Zanoli and Zavatti 2008). Another study found that addition of hops to a valerian formula reduced sleep latency (time required to fall asleep), compared to valerian on its own (Koetter and Biendl 2010). Isohumulones derived from hops have been shown to have beneficial effects in diabetes and obesity. In a study in subjects with mild type 2 diabetes, 100 mg of an isohumulone extract administered twice daily was shown to significantly reduce blood glucose, haemoglobin A1C and systolic blood pressure after 8 weeks. In a follow-up study in subjects with pre-diabetes, body mass index was significantly reduced after administration of 48 mg of isohumulones for 12 weeks (Koetter and Biendl 2010).
Hops
Humulus lupulus L.
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