Over here, tea from hops to help with sleeping problems is an old folk remedy that probably dates before the introduction of beer here. It’s still recommended as easy way from the natural doctors (instead of going to the strong sleeping pills). Hops contain a certain ingredient that causes sleepiness and has been identified; it’s also present in beer (so it’s not the alcohol alone that makes you sleepy after beer).
Instead of tea, some people also put hop buds into their pillow to smell them.
Hop also contains a phyto female hormone, which is the reason that beer drinkers get not only a gut, but also often male breasts (the main cause of course is the calorie content of the alcohol, which results in putting on fat; but the hormone steers a bit where the fat goes). I don’t remember at the moment if that aspect is used in natural medicine for menopause treatment, I think it’s weak compared with soy and other plants.
Hops also shows promise as a cancer preventative. Nothing like “proven”, but there are some interesting studies showing it to be both chemopreventive, antitumor and antiangiogenic**
**Dietz BM, Kang YH, Liu G, et al. Xanthohumol isolated from Humulus lupulus Inhibits menadione-induced DNA damage through induction of quinone reductase. Chem Res Toxicol. Aug 2005;18(8):1296-1305.
Delmulle L, Bellahcene A, Dhooge W, et al. Anti-proliferative properties of prenylated flavonoids from hops (Humulus lupulus L.) in human prostate cancer cell lines. Phytomedicine. Nov 2006;13(9-10):732-734.
Nozawa H, Nakao W, Zhao F, Kondo K. Dietary supplement of isohumulones inhibits the formation of aberrant crypt foci with a concomitant decrease in prostaglandin E2 level in rat colon. Mol Nutr Food Res. Aug 2005;49(8):772-778.
**Monteiro R, Faria A, Azevedo I, Calhau C. Modulation of breast cancer cell survival by aromatase inhibiting hop (Humulus lupulus L.) flavonoids.J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. Jun-Jul 2007;105(1-5):124-130.
**Albini A, Dell’Eva R, Vene R, et al. Mechanisms of the antiangiogenic activity by the hop flavonoid xanthohumol: NF-kappaB and Akt as targets.FASEB J. Mar 2006;20(3):527-529.
Also, it may be an aid in weight loss, lipid reduction and even the prevention of diabetes:
*Yajima H, Ikeshima E, Shiraki M, et al. Isohumulones, bitter acids derived from hops, activate both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and gamma and reduce insulin resistance. J Biol Chem. Aug 6 2004;279(32):33456-33462.
Shimura M, Hasumi A, Minato T, et al. Isohumulones modulate blood lipid status through the activation of PPAR alpha. Biochim Biophys Acta. Sep 5 2005;1736(1):51-60
Yajima H, Noguchi T, Ikeshima E, et al. Prevention of diet-induced obesity by dietary isomerized hop extract containing isohumulones, in rodents. Int J Obes (Lond). Aug 2005;29(8):991-997…*
constanze, indeed, hops is often in menopause formulas to reduce hot flashes. One study I know of showed good results: 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. May 20 2006;54(2):164-175.
Hops combined with valerian does indeed aid in sleep, but I’ve never had much luck with hops alone. Together with valerian, it works better than valerian alone, though, so I do believe it’s got some active ingredient working. Most herbals appropriately suggest its use with valerian, and at least one study has borne this out, too: Morin CM, Koetter U, Bastien C, Ware JC, Wooten V. Valerian-hops combination and diphenhydramine for treating insomnia: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.Sleep. Nov 1 2005;28(11):1465-1471.
It is almost cheating from the OP’s question, but hops can also be used to flavour mead. (I don’t like it, much preferring the spiced or plain mead flavours.) Not a big jump from beer to mead - being some of the earliest alcoholic beverages.
Malta Goya is made of “Water, pure malt, caramel malt, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, caramel color, phosphoric acid, salt and hops” and has zero alcohol.
Bavaria, Germany, where hop is grown and used mostly for beer, naturally. And where we have Chair for beer-brewing at the Technical University of Munich, outpost of Weihenstephan, to teach brewer master and further research brewing.
Though the other uses mostly seem to have been researched by the doctors.
I don’t have a cite, but I read somewhere that the generally higher hops content of German beer contributes to a stronger overall effect even when they contain no more alcohol than American ones.