Hops Flowers

Western Bulk Herbs – Hops Flowers

Hops have a sedating effect. The longer they process the stronger the sedative. Folk medicine used hops to wash sores and injured skin and they used it to reduce the pain of bladder infections. Hops were also used to marinate white and red meats to make it tender, but it was discovered this actually reduces the formation of cancer-causing HCA’s (heterocyclic amines) by Udo Pollmer, a German food chemist. “Lite” beer doesn’t work for this.

Latin Name:
Humulus lupulus

Common Names:
Hops, European Hops, and Lupulin

Parts Used:
The cone and grains of the hops flower — dried and sometimes, crushed.

Properties:
tonic, nervine, diuretic and anodyne properties

Traditional Uses:
Teas, infusions, tinctures, or capsules.

Topical Uses / Applications:

Culinary Uses:
Can be used in cooking but not normally used.

Chemical Properties:
Bitter resin. There are also tannins, flavonoid antioxidants, lupulone, and humulene.

Cautions:
Should not be used by individuals with depression or allergic hypersensitivity. Hops have the ability to enhance other sedatives.

Folk Lore:
Hops teas were used for centuries to relieve the pain of bladder infections not just for beer. They also used it for a strong digestive aid. It also has properties that make it good for relieving tension and as a sleep aid, its sedating effect.

*Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Resources:
PDR for Herbal Medicines, 2000. Medical Economics Company, Montvale, New Jersey.

The New Holistic Herbal. David Hoffmann, 1990. Barnes and Noble Books, New York.

A Modern Herbal, Mrs. M. Grieve, (Dover Publications, New York, 1971)

Major Herbs of Ayurvedic.Compiled by Dahur Research Foundation and Dahur Ayurvet Limited, Ghaziabad, India., 2002. Churchill Livingstone, London, England.

Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition, Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble, 1986. Eastland Press, Seattle, WA.