Bitter-tasting plants have a long history of their use as traditional foods and medicine. The use of bitter foods to suppress appetite and food cravings is reported in several cultures throughout history — for example, bitter herbs such as guggul are used in Ayurvedic medicine to reduce food intake, stimulate weight loss and suppress appetite.
Walker, et al., Gastrointestinal delivery of bitter hop extract reduces appetite and food cravings in healthy adult women undergoing acute fasting, reports, “The search for a commonly consumed bitter plant extract with a history of medicinal use that could be used for safe and effective appetite control led to Humulus lupulus (hops). Hops have been used medicinally since medieval times, including as an essential ingredient in beer brewing for well over 1000 years. Over this time, hops have been bred for increased bittering properties. These properties are favorable for producing a potent and persistent bitterness at the gut surface when delivered directly to the GI tract in a highly concentrated capsule-based format.”
Xanthohumol is a natural compound found in female flower heads of Humulus lupulus. Recent evidence suggests that xanthohumol may have therapeutic potential for metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Investigations have shown that it possesses a broad range of biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and immune-modulatory activity.
In the 2016 study by Morimoto-Kobayashi, et al., Matured hop extract reduces body fat in healthy overweight humans: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group study, the effects and safety of matured hop extract (MHE) on body fat reduction were investigated. The study involved subjects who received either 350 milliliters of a beverage containing either matured hop extract (containing 35 milligrams of matured hop bitter acids) or a placebo per day for 12 weeks. CT scans were conducted before and after the study on each subject to measure abdominal fat area.
Dietary intake was tracked in each subject, who were instructed not to change their diet in any way. Their activity was monitored with a pedometer, but they were also asked not to change their exercise habits in any way. “Compared to the placebo group, a significant reduction was observed in the visceral fat area after 8 and 12 weeks and in the total fat area after 12 weeks in the active group. There was also a concomitant decrease in body fat ratio in the active group compared to the placebo group. No adverse events related to the test beverages or clinically relevant abnormal changes in the circulatory, blood and urine parameters were observed in either group.”
“This study revealed that continual ingestion of MHE reduces body fat in healthy humans with a BMI of 25 or more and less than 30 kg/m2 without the need for any lifestyle change. Intake of MHE (35 mg as the amount of matured hop bitter acids) per day was sufficient to achieve this effect. Therefore, MHE could be a useful and safe tool to prevent obesity and related metabolic disorders.”
— From the research Matured hop extract reduces body fat in healthy overweight humans: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group study
According to Janssen & Depoortere, Nutrient sensing in the gut: New roads to therapeutics?, “The release of gut hormones involved in the control of food intake is dependent on the acute nutritional status of the body, suggesting that chemosensory mechanisms are involved in the control of their release. G protein-coupled taste receptors similar to those in the lingual system (near the tongue) — that respond to sweet, bitter, umami, and fatty acids — are expressed in endocrine cells within the gut mucosa and coordinate, together with other chemosensory signaling elements, the release of hormones that regulate energy and glucose homeostasis. In health, these nutrient sensors are likely to function as inhibitors to excessive nutrient exposure, and their malfunction may be responsible for a variety of metabolic dysfunctions associated with obesity; they may thus be considered as new therapeutic targets.”
As reported by Walker, et al., Gastrointestinal delivery of bitter hop extract reduces appetite and food cravings in healthy adult women undergoing acute fasting, “Amarasate, the bioactive hop extract present in the test capsules, has been shown to exhibit appetite-suppressing activity by increasing the blood concentrations of anorexigenic gut peptides glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CCK) and peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY). These peptide hormones are released during intestinal exposure to bitterness, and in addition to inducing satiation and enhancing postprandial satiety, they may also have a role in reducing food cravings.”
The Amarasate™ extract, from a hop cultivar bred by Plant & Food Research and grown in New Zealand, was found to trigger the body’s natural satiety response. In the clinical trial conducted by Walker, et al., New Zealand bitter hops extract reduces hunger during a 24-hour water-only fast, Amarasate reduced feelings of hunger during a 24-hour fasting period, including the absence of an increase in hunger at lunchtime.
Calocurb™ is a weight management supplement containing the Amarasate hop extract which was launched in New Zealand in April 2018. Amarasate is thought to work by triggering the body’s “bitter brake” — a physiological mechanism that tells the brain to stop eating, which occurs when bitter taste receptors on certain cells in the gut are triggered by bitter compounds.
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Legette, L., Karnpracha, C., Reed, R., Choi, J., … & Stevens, J. (2014). Human pharmacokinetics of xanthohumol, an antihyperglycemic flavonoid from hops. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
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Walker, E., Lo, K., & Gopal, P. (2024). Gastrointestinal delivery of bitter hop extract reduces appetite and food cravings in healthy adult women undergoing acute fasting. Obesity Pillars.
Research
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Legette, L., Karnpracha, C., Reed, R., Choi, J., … & Stevens, J. (2014). Human pharmacokinetics of xanthohumol, an antihyperglycemic flavonoid from hops. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
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Morimoto-Kobayashi, Y., Ohara, K., Takahashi, C., Kitao, S., … & Nagai, K. (2015). Matured hop bittering components induce thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue via sympathetic nerve activity. PLOS One.
Neumann, H., Frank, J., Venturelli, S., & Egert, S. (2021). Bioavailability and cardiometabolic effects of xanthohumol: Evidence from animal and human studies. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
Suzuki, S., Yamazaki, T., Takahashi, C., Kaneko, Y., & … & Katayama, M. (2018). The relationship between the effect of matured hop extract and physical activity on reducing body fat: re-analysis of data from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group study. Nutrition Journal.
Victor, P., Sarada, D., & Ramkumar, K. (2020). Pharmacological activation of Nrf2 promotes wound healing. European Journal of Pharmacology.
Walker, E., Lo, K., & Gopal, P. (2024). Gastrointestinal delivery of bitter hop extract reduces appetite and food cravings in healthy adult women undergoing acute fasting. Obesity Pillars.
Walker, E., Lo, K., Pahl, M., Shin, H., & Ingram, J. (2022). An extract of hops (Humulus lupulus L.) modulates gut peptide hormone secretion and reduces energy intake in healthy-weight men: A randomized, crossover clinical trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Walker, E., Lo, K., Tham, S., Pahl, M., & Gopal, P. (2019). New Zealand bitter hops extract reduces hunger during a 24-hour water-only fast. Nutrients.
Watanabe, Y., Fujisaka, S., Morinaga, Y., Watanabe, S., … & Tobe, K. (2023). Isoxanthohumol improves obesity and glucose metabolism via inhibiting intestinal lipid absorption with a bloom of Akkermansia muciniphila in mice. Molecular Metabolism.
Yajima, H., Ikeshima, E., Shiraki, M., Kanaya, T., … & Kondo, K. (2004). Isohumulones, bitter acids derived from hops, activate both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and gamma and reduce insulin resistance. The Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Yamashita, M., Fukizawa, S., & Nonaka, Y. (2020). Hop-derived prenylflavonoid isoxanthohumol suppresses insulin resistance by changing the intestinal microbiota and suppressing chronic inflammation in high fat diet-fed mice. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences.
Zugravu, C., Bohiltea, R., Salmen, T., Pogurschi, E., & Otelea, M. (2022). Antioxidants in hops: Bioavailability, health effects and perspectives for new products. Antioxidants.
Additional Information
Bitter hop acids decrease body fat in healthy subjects | Natural Health Research
Bitter hops supplement Calocurb associated with craving and hunger reduction in women | Nutraceuticals World
Can hops help you sleep? | Healthline
Do hops have health benefits? | Verywell Health
Further insight into hops | Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University
Hops compounds may combat metabolic syndrome by changing the gut microbiome | News-Medical.net
Hops extract reduces appetite and food cravings in recent study | Nutritional Outlook
Hops for weight management | The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research
Hops – Uses, side effects, and more | Web MD
Scientist Q&A: What you need to know about the new ‘hoppy beer’ study | The Scripps Research Institute