Hop (Humulus Lupulus L.) belongs to the family of Cannabaceae, but has been included in the order Rosales since 2003.

It is an annual climbing plant that develops in temperate and cold climates.

• The most common species of Humulus are:
• Humulus Lupulus 
• Humulus japonicus 
• Humulus yunnanensis

In its composition we find the polyphenols (they exert antioxidant activity), which constitute 3-6% of the dry substance of the cone. Xanthohumol is the most important  prenylated chalconium in terms of concentration and biological activity. It constitutes 80-90% of all prenylated flavonoids (1).

It is used in beer processing (the cones of the female hop plants are mainly used as an ingredient for the brewing industry) to give it a bitter taste.

The component responsible for the characteristic scent of the hops is the geranium acid which has unique characteristics. This compound is not an "odour-active", but acts as an enhancer of the terpenoids that give the classic scent (2).

Hop is also used in the pharmaceutical and medical sector as a sedative (3), sleeping pill, pain-reliever.

For more information:

Hop studies

References_____________________________________

(1) Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) Extract and 6-Prenylnaringenin Induce P450 1A1 Catalyzed Estrogen 2-Hydroxylation.  Wang S, Dunlap TL, Howell CE, Mbachu OC, Rue EA, Phansalkar R, Chen SN, Pauli GF, Dietz BM, Bolton JL.  Chem Res Toxicol. 2016 Jul 18;29(7):1142-50. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.6b00112.

(2) Identification and Characterization of Geranic Acid as a Unique Flavor Compound of Hops ( Humulus lupulus L.) Variety Sorachi Ace.  Sanekata A, Tanigawa A, Takoi K, Nakayama Y, Tsuchiya Y.  J Agric Food Chem. 2018 Nov 21;66(46):12285-12295. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b04395.

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