A substance contained in hops has the effect of preventing the growth of bacteria and some diseases are about to be successfully synthesized in the laboratory, promising to create medicines to treat diseases at low prices without Extract from beer plants in nature too. This report has just been published at the 251th annual conference of the world’s largest scientific community of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
The project leader, Dr. Kristopher Waynant, said “when researchers want to extract healthful compounds from hops, they must first determine whether they can extract specific compounds. But if you can find a way to make these compounds in the lab, this process will be much faster. “
The compound that Waynant and the researchers mention here is the humulones, the kind of aroma, bitter taste for beer that we often drink. It is an alpha acid that has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. There is also a type of beta acid, lupulone, which is thought to be of similar importance but has not yet been chemically defined. The ultimate goal of scientists is to take advantage of these effects to formulate ways to improve human health.
However, before humolone and lupulone can be “refined” into an effective drug, scientists must determine that they are extracted from a suitable acid in hops. In theory, they can do this by separating the acid by liquid chromatography, but the results of this method need to be compared with the analytical standards that are not available for these compounds .
In order to create a library of analytical standards, Waynant and his students at the University of Idaho sought to synthesize the humulone and lupulone types in the lab. They started with phloroglucinol, a commercially available precursor that is derived from plants. Finally, they developed a multi-step process to synthesize three types of humulone. However, they must also find ways to refine the steps to achieve the highest combined performance.
Looking ahead, the team announced it would continue to pursue the project, seeking to synthesize more types of humulone and lupulone. At the same time, they plan to cooperate with biologists and pharmacists to develop active ingredients for cancer drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs inspired by hops.
