Dr. Ryan Bradley-led study on hops plant for symptoms chronic inflammation featured in National Geographic. 
 

Researchers from the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) have been analyzing results from a study on xanthohumol, an active compound found in the botanical hops plant, which may have health benefits for inflammatory bowel disease.  

The NUNM study was recently featured in a National Geographic article exploring the health-promoting properties of hops, a common ingredient found in beer.  

Dr. Ryan Bradley, former director and senior investigator at the Helfgott Research Institute, was interviewed in connection to a prior NUNM study entitled “Xanthohumol Microbiome and Signature in Healthy Adults”. In this study, Bradley and other NUNM researchers examined the supplementation of high doses of xanthohumol in test subjects.  

Earlier studies had only been conducted in mice, which led Bradley and his team to run a pilot study confirming the safety and tolerability of the active compound in humans.  

Results from their placebo-controlled clinical trial showed no significant differences within a subset of 30 healthy adult subjects given a 24 milligram daily dose of xanthohumol, prompting further investigation into the compound’s capacity to treat various health concerns.  

When Helfgott researchers found that the human body did not eliminate the compound through urine, but instead mixed with bile during digestion, it sparked questions around its function throughout the digestive tract. “Because it is recirculated through the bile, that led to the hypothesis it might have direct activity in the bowels,” Bradley said in the article.  

Bradley’s most recent study seeks to analyze results in 20 research participants supplied with xanthohumol to determine whether it may have a positive impact on inflammatory bowel symptoms, such as those related to Chron’s disease.  

While hops, a perennial plant widely cultivated across the Pacific Northwest, is notable for its role in supporting beer’s popularity and significance across time, the article also surveyed its historical draw for researchers interested in preventing and treating disease.

One study involved Dr. Jan F. Stevens, an affiliate research investigator at NUNM and the associate director for research at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University in Corvallis, who looked at the prenylflavonoid compounds in the plant. 

Stevens, who worked alongside Bradley on NUNM’s initial pilot study testing xanthohumol in humans, had concluded the compound was easily absorbed by the bloodstream. The article stated the value in these findings, as it proved promising for other researchers hoping to asses its impact on various cancers in the body.

Within natural medicine, hops have traditionally been used to treat sleep disorders, alleviate stomach upset, and act as an antibacterial and antifungal agent.  

Although hops are a chief ingredient of beer, the article also stressed that this cannot be compared with a clinical dosage, and the negative impacts of consumption often outweigh any health benefit. 

Bradley reinforced that any potential outcomes shown through their study of xanthohumol would only appear in a mere four or five milligrams per liter of the most hops-forward of beers. “Drinking a liter of beer is not nearly enough to get the same effects as in our studies,” he said.  

Written by Ashley Villarreal, Marketing Content Specialist