Humulus lupulus
| Hops Humulus lupulus |
Hops - Humulus lupulus (in the Cannabaceae or Hemp family)
Parts used: Strobile.
Taste/smell: Drying, bitter.
Tendencies: Cooling.
Dosage: Infusion: 2 teaspoons per cup of water; or 1:1.5 fresh + dry liquid extract: 10-60 drops 1-4 times per day in a little water.
Mental picture and specific indications: Hops is indicated for irritable digestive tract and nervous system. It is specific for nervousness with twitching or muscular irritability, indigestion and sleeplessness.
Use: (a) Antispasmodic, (b) Sedative, (c) Anti-inflammatory, (d) Anodyne, (e) Stomachic, (f) Anaphrodisiac for men, (g) Nervine.
Hops is used for indigestion due to nervousness or poor dietary habits. It is helpful for colic in babies, for nervous exhaustion, anxiety, to promote sleep and for neuralgias.
Over 100 constituents have been identified in Hops. Hops is useful for dysmenorrhea, especially when taken prior to the onset of pain. It is also used during menopause. In vitro experiments on rat uteri with an alcohol extract, induced a strong antispasmodic effect. The alcohol extract shows sedative and anti-inflammatory effects in animal experiments. The sedative-hypnotic effect of hops is partially due to 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol. Considered a phytoestrogen.
Contraindications: Its sedative activity has increased the sleeping time induced by the drug pentobarbital.