Health benefits from natural flavonoid found in hops — so should I drink more beer?

A natural flavonoid found in hops has been found to improve some of the underlying markers of metabolic syndrome in laboratory animals and also reduced weight gain.

Obesity, high cholesterol and elevated glucose, collectively known as metabolic syndrome, are linked to some of the major health issues and causes of death in the developed world today — especially cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes.

In a recent study at Oregon State University, laboratory mice were fed a high-fat diet and given varying levels of xanthohumol, a natural flavonoid found in hops. The rats fed the highest dosage of xanthohumol cut their LDL, or ‘bad’, cholesterol 80%; their insulin level 42%; and their level of IL-6, a biomarker of inflammation, 78% compared to animals that were not fed the flavonoid.

Because they were still growing, eating a rich diet, gaining weight and becoming obese, the weight of the lab animals increased, but by 22% less in those receiving xanthohumol, even though all animals ate the same amount of food. Intake of xanthohumol appears to increase their oxygen consumption and metabolic rate, with implications for weight control.

“Work is still needed to further demonstrate the safety of high doses of xanthohumol, but dosages 15–30 times higher than we used have already been given to animals with no apparent problems,” said Fred Stevens, a professor in the OSU College of Pharmacy, principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute and corresponding author on the research.

“After further study, this might provide an effective treatment for metabolic syndrome at a very low cost.”

The findings were published in a special issue of Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics that was focused on ‘Polyphenols and Health’, and they suggest a possible new approach to issues such as human obesity, high cholesterol and elevated glucose.

Xanthohumol has been the subject of considerable research for its potential health benefits, as have other flavonoids such as those found in tea, garlic, chocolate, apples and blueberries.

Xanthohumol is found naturally in hops and beer, but the highest level used in this research was 60 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. This corresponds to a human equivalent dose of 350 milligrams per day for a 70 kg person, which far exceeds any amount that could be obtained by ordinary dietary intake. A level that high would equate to a beer intake of 3500 pints per day for a human adult.

However, that amount of xanthohumol could readily be obtained in a dietary supplement that could be taken once a day.