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Review
. 2015 Jan 7;20(1):754-79.
doi: 10.3390/molecules20010754.

Pharmacological profile of xanthohumol, a prenylated flavonoid from hops (Humulus lupulus)

Ming Liu  1 , Poul Erik Hansen  2 , Genzhu Wang  3 , Lin Qiu  4 , Jianjun Dong  5 , Hua Yin  6 , Zhonghua Qian  7 , Mei Yang  8 , Jinlai Miao  9
Affiliations
Review

Pharmacological profile of xanthohumol, a prenylated flavonoid from hops (Humulus lupulus)

Ming Liu et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

The female inflorescences of hops (Humulus lupulus L.), a well-known bittering agent used in the brewing industry, have long been used in traditional medicines. Xanthohumol (XN) is one of the bioactive substances contributing to its medical applications. Among foodstuffs XN is found primarily in beer and its natural occurrence is surveyed. In recent years, XN has received much attention for its biological effects. The present review describes the pharmacological aspects of XN and summarizes the most interesting findings obtained in the preclinical research related to this compound, including the pharmacological activity, the pharmacokinetics, and the safety of XN. Furthermore, the potential use of XN as a food additive considering its many positive biological effects is discussed.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Female hop flowers (A); hop flowers resin covering flower bracts (B); and structure of xanthohumol, isoxanthohumol, and kuraridine (C).
Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Pathway for XN metabolism and production of its metabolites: IX, 6PN, 8PN, and DMX. Reproduced from reference [152].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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