Studies conducted on the medical properties of hops have found that it has similar medical properties to Valerian, due to the antibacterial, anti-fungal and antioxidant properties found in both. Hops and valerian may both provide the following medical benefits:

Anxiolytic properties.

Treatment for insomnia.

Treatment for digestive problems.

Reducing menopausal symptoms.

Hops (Humulus lupulus) is a versatile herb with various applications in herbal medicine, brewing, and aromatherapy. 

The female flower cones, known as strobiles, are the primary part used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Here's a comprehensive overview of hops usage in different forms:

Hops Tincture

Hops tincture is a concentrated liquid extract made by soaking dried hops strobiles in alcohol. This form is popular due to its long shelf life and ease of use.Usage:

• Insomnia: Take 1-2 ml before bedtime to promote relaxation and sleep

   

• Anxiety: Use 1 ml up to 3 times daily to help reduce stress and anxiety

   

• Digestive aid: Take 1 ml before meals to stimulate appetite and aid digestion

   

Preparation: Typically made in a 1:5 ratio with 60% alcohol. Dosage is usually 1.5-3 ml, taken up to 3 times daily

Herbal Capsules

Hops capsules offer a convenient way to consume the herb without its bitter taste.

Usage:

• Menopausal symptoms: Take 100 mcg of standardized 8-prenylnaringenin daily to help reduce hot flashes

   

• Sleep aid: Consume 400 mg of hops extract combined with valerian root 30 minutes before bedtime

   

• Metabolic health: Some studies suggest hops may help with weight management and metabolic syndrome

   

Dried Herbs

Dried hops strobiles can be used in various ways, including teas, sachets, and topical applications.

Usage:

• Tea: Steep 1-2 grams of dried hops in hot water for 30 minutes. Drink up to 3 times daily for relaxation and digestive support

   

• Sleep pillow: Fill a small sachet with dried hops and place it inside your pillowcase to promote restful sleep

   

• Topical application: Create a poultice or fomentation for skin irritations, muscle spasms, or lower back pain

   

Essential Oil

Hops essential oil is less common but can be used in aromatherapy and topical applications.

Usage:

• Aromatherapy: Add a few drops to a diffuser to promote relaxation and reduce stress

   

• Massage oil: Dilute in a carrier oil and use for muscle relaxation or to soothe skin irritations

   

• Bathing: Add a few drops to bathwater for a relaxing, sleep-promoting soak

   

Additional Uses and Benefits

1. Antioxidant properties: Hops contain polyphenols that may help protect cells from oxidative stress

    

2. Antimicrobial effects: Some studies suggest hops may have antibacterial properties, potentially useful in natural preservatives or skincare

    

3. Hormonal balance: The phytoestrogens in hops may help alleviate some menopausal symptoms and support hormonal balance

    

4. Potential cancer-fighting properties: Some compounds in hops, like xanthohumol, are being studied for their potential anti-cancer effects, though more research is needed

    

5. Brewing: Beyond medicinal uses, hops are crucial in beer production, providing bitterness, flavor, and aroma

    

6. Culinary applications: Hops can be used to flavor foods and beverages beyond beer, such as teas, sodas, and even some savory dishes

    

7. Skin care: Hops extracts are sometimes used in cosmetics for their potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties

    

When using hops in any form, it's important to consider potential interactions with medications, especially sedatives or hormonal treatments. 

Pregnant women should avoid therapeutic doses of hops. As with any herbal remedy, it's advisable to consult with a healthcare professional before starting a new regimen, especially if you have existing health conditions or are taking medications.

Hops Strobiles

Humulus lupulus

Area of origin: Germany

Certification:

Organic EU; Organic NOP/COR; SAGAP; HACCP

Hops strobiles are the cone shaped flowers of the humulus lupulus vine. Most commonly used for its bittering, flavouring and stabilizing properties in beer, hops are characterised by its floral, citrus, or earthy aroma and flavour. Hop cultivation is extremely popular and as a result there is a wide variety of hops species, each with a unique combination of aroma, flavour and bitterness. Hops are also used in many traditional medicines and for flavouring for soft drinks, herbal teas and tea blends.

Source : http://www.wikiphyto.org/wiki/Houblon

Reference on http://www.wikiphyto.org

Translation in English by Google Translate  (go to the page of the source linked | on Chrome cellphones go on the 3 dots on the top right and select translate in your preferred language | on laptop right click your mouse and select option translate when hoovering on the page

plant name

Hop, hop (English)

International Latin denomination

Humulus lupulus L.

botanical family

Cannabaceae

Description and habitat

• Perennial dioecious lianoid herbaceous plant, with opposite lobed leaves, ovoid yellow-greenish female flowers grouped in clusters, formed of membranous scales (bracts and bracteoles) which bear lupulin (oleoresin) glands in red-orange grains

History and tradition

• Cultivated for the production of beer from the 8th century in Germany
• Produced by hop fields in many countries with a temperate climate (Alsace, temperate Europe)

Parts used

• Dried female inflorescence (called “cone” or strobile)

Dosage forms available

• Mother tincture of female inflorescence (cone)
• Female inflorescence EPS (cone)

Usual dosages

Composition

Main components of the plant

• Flavonoids  :
  • Rutoside , quercitroside , astragaloside
  • Flavanones  : hopein (= 8-prenyl-naringenin ), 6-prenylnaringenin , 3'-geranylchalconaringenin , 6-geranylnaringenin , 8-geranylnaringenin , 4'-O:-methyl-3'-prenylchalconaringenin , 6,8-diprenylnaringenin
  • Isoprenylated chalcones : xanthohumol and isoxanthohumol
• Essential oil (0.3 to 1%): beta-myrcene , humulene (= alpha-caryophyllene ), caryophyllene
• Oleo-resins or prenylated derivatives of a 1-acyl- phloroglucinol  : lupulone , humulone (15 to 30%) responsible for the bitterness

Main components of buds or young shoots

Main components of essential oil

• Monoterpene  : beta-myrcene (acyclic, 3) 50%
• Sesquiterpenes  : beta-caryophyllene , alpha-cadinene
• Humulene (= alpha-caryophyllene )

Properties

Plant properties

• Sedative, antibacterial activity
• Analgesic, effect mediated by opioid receptors, but not by serotonergic or alpha(2)-adrenergic receptors [1]
• Powerfully estrogenic [2] by various polyphenols  : isoflavones , chalcones (including xanthohumol ), prenylated flavones including especially 8-prenyl-naringenin (= hopein ): at a dose of 30mg/Kg body weight in rats for 14 days, l enlargement of the uterus is the same as that obtained with 0.01mg/Kg of estradiol (3000 times lower activity in molecular weight ratio) [3] , [4]
• The activity is identical at the level of the alpha and beta estrogen receptors [5]
• Isoxanthohumol , weakly phytoestrogenic can be bioactivated by 8-prenyl-naringenin [6] , [7] , with intervention of the saprophytic flora (microbiota) [8]
• 8- prenyl -naringenin inhibits angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo [9]
• Effective on hot flushes with 8-prenyl-naringenin at a dose of 400 µg/kg [10] , and on menopausal discomfort [11] , [12]

Bud properties

Properties of essential oil

Directions

Indications of the whole plant (phytotherapy)

• Disorders of the menopause, hot flashes, hops would decrease the body temperature [13]
• Instability, hyperexcitability, insomnia of nervous origin and states of stress
• Sleep onset insomnia during menopause
• Symptomatic treatment of neurotonic states in adults and children, especially in cases of minor sleep disorders
• appetite stimulation
• female hirsutism (?)

Indications of the bud (gemmotherapy)

Specific indications of essential oil (aromatherapy)

Known or suspected mode of action

• Methylbutenol formed from humulone and lupulone can be considered as one of the active ingredients, its content increases during storage
• Hopein (= 8- prenyl -naringenin ) is potently estrogenic, and at a dose of 30 mg/Kg of body weight in rats for 14 days, the increase in the uterus is the same as that obtained with 0.01 mg/ Kg of estradiol (source AFSSAPS)

Usual formulations

• Classic galactogenic herbal tea formula:
  • Angelica Angelica archangelica seeds...30 grams
  • Green anise Pimpinella anisum seeds...30 grams
  • Fennel Foeniculum vulgare seeds ... 30 grams
  • Caraway Carum caraway seeds...60 grams
  • Hops Humulus lupulus cones ... 20 grams
  • One teaspoon per cup. Boil 2 to 3 minutes, infuse 10 minutes. Drink 2 to 3 cups a day

Regulations

• French Pharmacopoeia list A (female inflorescence called "hop cone")

Possible side effects and precautions for use

• Contraindicated in mastosis and history of breast cancer, hormone-dependent cancers

Bibliographic references

1. Aller↑ Park SH, Sim YB, Kang YJ, Kim SS, Kim CH, Kim SJ, Seo JY, Lim SM, Suh HW. Hop extract produces antinociception by acting on opioid system in mice. Korean J Physiol Pharmacol. 2012 Jun;16(3):187-92. PMID 22802700
2. Aller↑ Chadwick LR, Pauli GF, Farnsworth NR. The pharmacognosy of Humulus lupulus L. (hops) with an emphasis on estrogenic properties. Phytomedicine. 2006 Jan;13(1-2):119-31. PMID 16360942
3. Aller↑ AFSSA, AFSSAPS. Safety and benefits of dietary phytoestrogens - Recommendations. March 2005 full text
4. Aller↑ Milligan SR, Kalita JC, Pocock V, Van De Kauter V, Stevens JF, Deinzer ML, Rong H, De Keukeleire D. The endocrine activities of 8-prenylnaringenin and related hop (Humulus lupulus L.) flavonoids. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000 Dec;85(12):4912-5. PMID 1113416
5. Aller↑ S Milligan, J Kalita, V Pocock, A Heyerick, L De Cooman, H Rong, and D De Keukeleire. Estrogenic activity of the hop phyto-oestrogen, 8-prenylnaringenin. Breeding (2002) 123 235-242. PMID 11866690 full text
6. Aller↑ Bolca S, Possemiers S, Maervoet V, Huybrechts I, Heyerick A, Vervarcke S, Depypere H, De Keukeleire D, Bracke M, De Henauw S, Verstraete W, Van De Wiele T. Microbial and dietary factors associated with the 8- prenylnaringenin producer phenotype: a dietary intervention trial with fifty healthy post-menopausal Caucasian women. British journal of nutrition. 2007, vol. 98, no.5, p. 950-959 [1]
7. Aller↑ Cassia R. Overk, Ping Yao, Lucas R. Chadwick, Dejan Nikolic, Yongkai Sun, Muriel A. Cuendet, Yunfan Deng, AS Hedayat, Guido F. Pauli, Norman R. Farnsworth, Richard B. van Breemen, Judy L. Bolton. Comparison of the In Vitro Estrogenic Activities of Compounds from Hops (Humulus lupulus) and Red Clover (Trifolium pratense). J Agric Food Chem. 2005 August 10; 53(16): 6246–6253 [2]
8. Aller↑ Sam Possemiers, Arne Heyerick, Veerle Robbens, Denis De Keukeleire, Willy Verstraete. Activation of Proestrogens from Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) by Intestinal Microbiota; Conversion of Isoxanthohumol into 8-Prenylnaringenin. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2005 53 (16), 6281-6288 [3]
9. Aller↑ Pepper Michael S, Hazel Susan J, Hümpel Michael, Schleuning Wolf-Dieter. 8-prenylnaringenin, a novel phytoestrogen, inhibits angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. J.Cell. Physiol. 199: 98-107, 2004 [4]
10. Aller↑ James Bowe, Xiao Feng Li, James Kinsey-Jones, Arne Heyerick1, Susan Brain2, Stuart Milligan and Kevin O'Byrne. The hop phytoestrogen, 8-prenylnaringenin, reverses the ovariectomy-induced rise in skin temperature in an animal model of menopausal hot flushes. Journal of Endocrinology (2006) 191, 399-405 [5]
11. Aller↑ R. Erkkola, S. Vervarcke, S. Vansteelandt, P. Rompotti, D. De Keukeleire, A. Heyerick. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over pilot study on the use of a standardized hop extract to alleviate menopausal discomforts. Phytomedicine 17 (2010) 389–396 PMID 20167461
12. Aller↑ Heyerick A, Vervarcke S, Depypere H, Bracke M, De Keukeleire D. A first prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on the use of a standardized hop extract to alleviate menopausal discomforts. Maturitas. 2006 May 20;54(2):164-75. PMID 16321485
13. Aller↑ Goetz P. The role of hops and its constituents in the treatment of menopause. Phytotherapy, April 2007, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp 83–85

As always with natural products you need to test for personal allergies and be cautious during pregnancy, nursing or taking medication. Please check with your health practitioner