Humulus Lupulus
Hops (Humulus lupulus) is a perennial native British plant with a stout root, having heart-shaped leaves and cone-like flowers. Hops was first used by breweries in the Netherlands in the early fourteenth century. Hops has been used traditionally for nervous conditions. It has been used for sleep and may relieve restlessness and anxiety. It has tonic, nervine, diuretic and anodyne properties. The volatile oil of Hops produces sedative and soporific effects, and the Lupamaric acid or bitter principle is stomachic and tonic. For this reason Hops improve the appetite and promote sleep. It has a long and proven history of herbal use, where they are employed mainly for their soothing, sedative, tonic and calming effect on the body and the mind. Their strongly bitter flavour largely accounts for their ability to strengthen and stimulate the digestion, increasing gastric and other secretions.
The female fruiting body of Hops is anodyne, antiseptic, antispasmodic, diuretic, febrifuge, hypnotic, nervine, sedative, stomachic and tonic. Hops is also widely used as a folk remedy to treat a wide range of complaints, including boils, bruises, calculus, cancer, cramps, cough, cystitis, debility, delirium, diarrhoea, dyspepsia, fever, fits, hysteria, inflammation, insomnia, jaundice, nerves, neuralgia, rheumatism, and worms. The hairs on the fruits contain lupulin, a sedative and hypnotic drug. Alcoholic extracts of Hops in various dosage forms have been used clinically in treating numerous forms of leprosy, pulmonary tuberculosis, and acute bacterial dysentery, with varying degrees of success in China.
References:
Botanical.Com. http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hops--32.html
Purdue University. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Humulus_lupulus.html
Plants for a Future Database. http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Humulus+lupulus
