Hops Essential Oil (Humulus lupulus)
Overview
Hops may also be referred to as Common hop. It is typically processed using steam distillation as a method for extracting oil from the flowers known as cones or strobiles.
Summary
Most commonly known for its use in crafting beers, "hops" as they're commonly called, are the female flowers (cones) of Humulus lupulus, a climbing plant most commonly grown in Europe.
Aromatically, I find Hop Essential Oil to be a bit too bitter/sharp for my liking when used alone, but it is a wonderful aromatic when blending at low dilutions with other oils for either therapeutic or fragrance blending.
Essential Facts
- Aroma Description:
- Common Name(s): Common hop
-
Synonyms(s) for Humulus lupulus: Humulus aculeatus, Humulus lupulus brachystachyus, Humulus volubilis, Humulus vulgaris, Humulus yunnanensis, Lupulus amarus, Lupulus communis, Lupulus humulus
- Botanical Family: Cannabaceae
- Botanical Genus: Humulus
- Major Compounds: a-Caryophyllene, B-Myrcene, B-Caryophyllene, gamma-Cadinene, delta-Cadinene, a-Muurolene
- Perfumery Note: Middle
- Consistency: Medium
- Strength of Initial Aroma: Medium
- Color: Golden Yellow
- Indigenous Country: Germany
- Cultivation: Wild Harvested
- Processing Methods: Steam Distillation
- Part Typically Used: Flowers known as cones or strobiles
- Shelf Life: Indefinite
Earthy
Fresh
Herbaceous
Slightly bitter
Sweet-
Wild Harvested
-
Vegan
Essential Details
Benefits & Uses
Anxiety
Insomnia
Sedative
StressCautions & Safety
Cautions when using Hops:
Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young do not precaution against any specific hazards or contraindications within their safety summary. [Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014), 306.] Julia Lawless mentions that it should be avoided by those with depression, however, she does not confirm why nor do I see this forewarning in other sources. [Julia Lawless,The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 149.]
Safety Precautions for Hops:
Do not take any oils internally and do not apply undiluted essential oils, absolutes, CO2s or other concentrated essences onto the skin without advanced essential oil knowledge or consultation from a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. If you are pregnant, epileptic, have liver damage, have cancer, or have any other medical problem, use oils only under the proper guidance of a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Use extreme caution when using oils with children and be sure to first read the recommended dilution ratios for children. Consult a qualified aromatherapy practitioner before using oils with children, the elderly, if you have medical issues or are taking medications. For in-depth information on oil safety issues, read Essential Oil Safety by Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young.
Articles
Hops Articles or Publications:
- PubMed: Effects of Xanthohumol-Rich Hop Extract on the Differentiation of Preadipocytes.
- PubMed: Comprehensive separation and structural analyses of polyphenols and related compounds from bracts of hops (Humulus lupulus L.).
- PubMed: Effects of xanthohumol-rich extract from the hop on fatty acid metabolism in rats fed a high-fat diet.
- PubMed: A preliminary investigation of anticholinesterase activity of some Iranian medicinal plants commonly used in traditional medicine.
- PubMed: Inhibition of human cytochrome P450 enzymes by hops (Humulus lupulus) and hop prenylphenols.
- PubMed: In vitro and in vivo antioxidant and antimutagenic activities of polyphenols extracted from hops (Humulus lupulus L.).
- PubMed: Antiadherent and antibiofilm activity of Humulus lupulus L. derived products: new pharmacological properties.
- PubMed: Comparative study of antioxidant properties and total phenolic content of the extracts of Humulus lupulus L. and quantification of bioactive components by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS.
- PubMed: A semi-automatic microextraction in packed sorbent, using a digitally controlled syringe, combined with ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography as a new and ultra-fast approach for the determination of prenylflavonoids in beers.
- PubMed: Differential regulation of detoxification enzymes in hepatic and mammary tissue by hops (Humulus lupulus) in vitro and in vivo.
- PubMed: Effects of extracts of Humulus lupulus (hops) and Yucca schidigera applied alone or in combination with monensin on rumen fermentation and microbial populations in vitro.
- PubMed: Evaluation of the effect of Humulus lupulus alcoholic extract on rifampin-sensitive and resistant isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
- PubMed: Hop water extract inhibits double-stranded RNA-induced thymic stromal lymphopoietin release from human nasal epithelial cells.
- PubMed: Optimized mixture of hops rho iso-alpha acids-rich extract and acacia proanthocyanidins-rich extract reduces insulin resistance in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and improves glucose and insulin control in db/db mice.
- PubMed: META060 protects against diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in a high-fat-diet fed mouse.
- PubMed: The sedative effects of hops (Humulus lupulus), a component of beer, on the activity/rest rhythm.
- PubMed: Hop bitter acids inhibit tumorigenicity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro.
- PubMed: Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) extract inhibits obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet over the long term.
- PubMed: Dose-response relationships for the antifeedant effects of Humulus lupulus extracts against larvae and adults of the Colorado potato beetle.
- PubMed: Hop bitter acids exhibit anti-fibrogenic effects on hepatic stellate cells in vitro.
- PubMed: Hops (Humulus lupulus) inhibits oxidative estrogen metabolism and estrogen-induced malignant transformation in human mammary epithelial cells (MCF-10A).
- PubMed: [Effects of ethanol extracts of herbal medicines on dermatitis in an atopic dermatitis mouse model].
- PubMed: The extract from hop cones (Humulus lupulus) as a modulator of oxidative stress in blood platelets.
- PubMed: Increased sexual motivation in female rats treated with Humulus lupulus L. extract.
- PubMed: A dietary supplement to improve the quality of sleep: a randomized placebo controlled trial.
- PubMed: Effects of hops (Humulus lupulus L.) extract on volatile fatty acid production by rumen bacteria.
- PubMed: Xanthohumol from hop (Humulus lupulus L.) is an efficient inhibitor of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha release in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages and U937 human monocytes.
- PubMed: Experimental evidence of the anaphrodisiac activity of Humulus lupulus L. in naïve male rats.
- PubMed: The antimicrobial effects of hops (Humulus lupulus L.) on ruminal hyper ammonia-producing bacteria.
- PubMed: Oestrogenicity of prenylflavonoids from hops: activation of pro-oestrogens by intestinal bacteria.
- PubMed: In vivo estrogenic comparisons of Trifolium pratense (red clover) Humulus lupulus (hops), and the pure compounds isoxanthohumol and 8-prenylnaringenin.
- PubMed: Development of a screening assay for ligands to the estrogen receptor based on magnetic microparticles and LC-MS.
- PubMed: Effects of traditionally used anxiolytic botanicals on enzymes of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system.
- PubMed: Antimutagenicity of hops (Humulus lupulus L.): bioassay-directed fractionation and isolation of xanthohumol.
- PubMed: Effects of aqueous hop (Humulus Lupulus L.) extract on vascular reactivity in rats: mechanisms and influence of gender and hormonal status.
- PubMed: Modulation of breast cancer cell survival by aromatase inhibiting hop (Humulus lupulus L.) flavonoids.
- PubMed: NMR assignment of iso-alpha-acids from isomerised extracts of Humulus lupulus L. cones.
- PubMed: Hypothermic effects of hops are antagonized with the competitive melatonin receptor antagonist luzindole in mice.
- PubMed: Determination of xanthohumol in hops (Humulus lupulus L.) by nonaqueous CE.
- PubMed: Flavonoid glycosides extracted from hop (Humulus lupulus L.) as inhibitors of chemical mediator release from human basophilic KU812 cells.
- PubMed: Behavioural response of Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) larvae to selected plant extracts.
- PubMed: Open, non-controlled clinical studies to assess the efficacy and safety of a medical device in form of gel topically and intravaginally used in postmenopausal women with genital atrophy.
- PubMed: Effects of hop extracts on nasal rubbing and sneezing in BALB/c mice.
- PubMed: Effects of beer and hop on ionotropic gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors.
- PubMed: Selective inhibition of COX-2 by a standardized CO2 extract of Humulus lupulus in vitro and its activity in a mouse model of zymosan-induced arthritis.
- PubMed: A first prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on the use of a standardized hop extract to alleviate menopausal discomforts.
- PubMed: Anti-inflammatory acylphloroglucinol derivatives from Hops (Humulus lupulus).
- PubMed: Screening method for the discovery of potential cancer chemoprevention agents based on mass spectrometric detection of alkylated Keap1.
- PubMed: Xanthohumol isolated from Humulus lupulus Inhibits menadione-induced DNA damage through induction of quinone reductase.
- PubMed: Comparison of the in vitro estrogenic activities of compounds from hops (Humulus lupulus) and red clover (Trifolium pratense).
- PubMed: New insight in the neuropharmacological activity of Humulus lupulus L.
- PubMed: Estrogens and congeners from spent hops (Humulus lupulus).
- PubMed: The antimycobacterial components of hops (Humulus lupulus) and their dereplication.
- PubMed: Direct characterization of bitter acids in a crude hop extract by liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry.
- PubMed: Occupational airborne and hand dermatitis to hop (Humulus lupulus) with non-occupational relapses.
- PubMed: Comparison of the most odor-active compounds in fresh and dried hop cones (Humulus lupulus L. variety spalter select) based on GC-olfactometry and odor dilution techniques.
- PubMed: Molecular characterization and genome organization of 7SL RNA genes from hop (Humulus lupulus L.).
- PubMed: Phlorisovalerophenone synthase, a novel polyketide synthase from hop (Humulus lupulus L.) cones.
- PubMed: Xanthohumols, diacylglycerol acyltransferase inhibitors, from Humulus lupulus.