Hops antioxidants, how the body takes them in, and health effects
What it found
Hops contain antioxidants, mainly polyphenols, that show protective effects in lab and animal studies, but the body absorbs some of them poorly.
Most of the evidence comes from cells and animals, not people.
What they found
Studies in people
Xanthohumol in people
In a blinded randomized study, blood levels of xanthohumol rose clearly only after doses above 60 mg. Levels peaked at 1 hour and 4 hours, and the half life was around 20 hours.
Animal and lab studies
Poor absorption
The body absorbs several key hops antioxidants poorly when they are swallowed. In animals, more than 80% of xanthohumol given by mouth came out in the feces.
Cancer, in lab tests
Xanthohumol and other hops compounds affected cancer cells in lab tests, including lung, colon, pancreas, thyroid, cervical, ovarian, head and neck, skin, melanoma and leukemia cells. They also made some resistant cancer cells more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs.
Cancer, in animals
Animal studies found xanthohumol reduced body weight, lipid absorption and plasma glucose. In mice on a high fat diet, xanthohumol and tetrahydroxanthohumol reduced fat buildup in the liver and in fat tissue.
Drug interactions
Prenylflavonoids from hops changed the activity and levels of phase II enzymes in Caco-2 cells. This could affect how some medicines are broken down in the body.
Studies in people and animals
Safety in the short term
The authors report that hops extracts and bitter acids have been evaluated for consumer safety and were judged acceptable for short term use in adequate amounts, such as 300 mg per day of extracts for 3 months and 35 mg per day of bitter acids for the same period. Xanthohumol was tested in lab and rat studies and appeared to target cancer cells without major problems in short term high dose use.
What the authors conclude
“So far investigated only in vitro and in vivo on experimental animals, these substances are awaiting confirmation in clinical trials.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that hops are a source of bioactive substances with promising potential for preventing and treating common chronic diseases.
- They note that these substances have so far been studied only in lab tests and in experimental animals, and are waiting for confirmation in clinical trials.
- They expect the industry to develop new products with better absorption to solve the current problems caused by poor uptake of some important hops antioxidants when taken by mouth.
How it was done
Hops have been used as a medicinal plant for a very long time, and scientists want to understand whether its antioxidants can help prevent chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome and cancer.
The authors pulled together published studies on the main antioxidants in hops, how well the body absorbs them, and their effects on cancer and metabolic syndrome. The studies included lab tests on cells, experiments in animals, and a small number of trials in people.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the evidence comes from lab tests on cells and from animal studies, so it cannot show what happens in people.
- The few studies in people were small and short, so they cannot show whether hops antioxidants prevent or treat disease over time.
- This is a review of other studies, so it cannot prove cause and effect for any health outcome.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania; "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest, Romania; "Prof. Dr. N.C.Paulescu" National Institute of Diabetes, Romania
The paper
- Title
- Antioxidants in Hops: Bioavailability, Health Effects and Perspectives for New Products
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Zugravu CA, Bohiltea RE, Salmen T, Pogurschi E, Otelea MR (2022). Antioxidants in Hops: Bioavailability, Health Effects and Perspectives for New Products. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/antiox11020241Free full textPubMed 35204124DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error