alpha-bitter-acid and colupulone

Hop is widely used in beer brewing and as a medicinal product. The present study comprehensively analyzed the main molecular determinants of the antibacterial activity of hop extracts. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against Bacillus subtilis between 31.25 and 250 µg/mL were found in the ethanolic extracts of five hop varieties for beer brewing, but not in the tea hop sample. Activity-guided fractionation revealed the highest antibacterial activity for lupulone and adlupulone (MIC 0.98 µg/mL). Metabolome profiling and subsequent multistep statistical analysis detected 33 metabolites out of 1826 features to be associated with the antibacterial activity including humulone, adhumulone, colupulone, lupulone, and adlupulone. Xanthohumol, the three humulone- and three lupulone congeners were quantified in the hop extracts by a validated ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Considering concentrations and MICs, colupulone and lupulone were identified as major contributors to the antibacterial activity of hop extract with the highest antibacterial activity values (concentration/MIC) of 1.59 and 2.56.

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Metabolome

Bitter acids (BAs) from the hop plant Humulus lupulus L. exhibit multiple beneficial biological properties with promising effects in cancer therapy and prevention, but information regarding the effects on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is missing. Here, we used two different hop bitter acid extracts enriched for either α-acids or β-acids to obtain insight into whether biological activity varies between these two groups of BAs. At a concentration of 25 µg/ml, only the β-acid rich started to induce aspartate transaminase (AST) release, and a significant increase was detected with 50 µg/ml of both extracts. Already at lower concentrations both extracts led to a dose-dependent inhibition of proliferation, and migration was suppressed at a concentration as low as 5 µg/ml in HCC cells. The focus on different signaling pathways revealed an inhibition of ERK1/2 phosphorylation, downregulation of AP-1 activity and an alleviation of nuclear factor κB (NFκB) activity in HepG2 cells incubated with 5 µg/ml of both extracts, whereby the β-acid rich extract showed more pronounced effects. In conclusion, we identified ERK1/2, AP-1 and NFκB, which are important factors in tumor development and progression, as targets of hop BAs. Thus, these data suggest the potential use of BAs as functional nutrients for both prevention and treatment of HCC.

Topics: Acids; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Aspartate Aminotransferases; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Cyclohexanones; Cyclohexenes; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Humans; Humulus; Liver Neoplasms; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; NF-kappa B; Phosphorylation; Plant Extracts; Terpenes; Transcription Factor AP-1; Tumor Cells, Cultured

A method of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed for the separation and determination of six acidic components (cohumulone, humulone, adhumulone, colupulone, lupulone and adlupulone) in hops extracts. The effects of several important factors, such as the addition of acid, the organic solvent of elution solution and the column temperature, were investigated to acquire the optimum conditions. The separation was carried out on a Hypersil ODS2 column (250 mm x 4. 6 mm, 5 microm). A mixture of acetonitrile-0. 1% (v/v) phosphoric acid solution (pH 2. 2) (65: 35, v/v) was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1. 0 mL/min in isocratic elution mode. The column temperature was kept at room temperature, and the detection wavelength was set at 315 nm. The six acidic components reached baseline separation, and were identified by ultraviolet spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The results show that this method is suitable for the analysis of acidic components in hops extracts owing to the stable and simple performance.

Topics: Acids; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cyclohexanones; Cyclohexenes; Humulus; Plant Extracts; Terpenes

The antibacterial effect of weak acids derived from the hop plant (Humulus lupulus L.) increased with decreasing pH. Analysis of the minimum inhibitory concentration of such compounds against Lactobacillus brevis IFO 3960 over pH 4-7 suggests that undissociated molecules were mainly responsible for inhibition of bacterial growth. The antibacterial activity of trans-isohumulone was ca 20 times greater than that of humulone, 11 times greater than that of colupulone and nine times greater than that of trans-humulinic acid when the degree of ionization was taken into account. Monovalent cations (K+, Na+, NH4+, Rb+, Li+) stimulated antibacterial activity of trans-isohumulone but the effect was smaller than that observed with H+. The response to divalent cations varied: Ca2+ had little effect on antibacterial activity, whereas Mg2+ reduced activity. Lipid materials and beta-cyclodextrin also antagonized the antibacterial action of trans-isohumulone.

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Cations, Divalent; Cations, Monovalent; Cyclohexanones; Cyclohexenes; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Lactobacillus; Terpenes