About this ingredient
Ingredients
Hops are the dried female flower cones of Humulus lupulus, a climbing plant traditionally used as a flavoring and botanical ingredient. Hops naturally contain bitter acids, essential oils, polyphenols, prenylated flavonoids, tannins, and resins. Notable compounds include xanthohumol, isoxanthohumol, humulone, and lupulone. The exact composition depends on the hop variety, plant material, extraction method, and product formulation.
Hops (Humulus lupulus) are botanical ingredients best known for their use in brewing, but hop cones have also been used traditionally in herbal preparations. The female cones contain lupulin glands that provide many of the plant's characteristic bitter compounds, aromatic oils, and polyphenols.
Hops contain several groups of naturally occurring compounds, including alpha acids such as humulone, beta acids such as lupulones, volatile oils, flavonoids, tannins, and prenylated flavonoids. Xanthohumol is one of the characteristic prenylated flavonoids found in hops, while 8-prenylnaringenin is a well-studied hop-derived phytoestrogen.
In dietary supplements, Hops may be provided as dried hop cones, powders, liquid extracts, or standardized botanical extracts. They are commonly incorporated into herbal formulas focused on relaxation, sleep support, women's wellness, or general botanical nutrition. However, human evidence varies by intended use, and concentrated hop extracts should be used according to the product label.