Hops (Humulus lupulus)
Medicinal Profile of
Hops (Humulus lupulus)
Hops Flower are the female flower cones of the hop plant, best known as a bittering agent in beer but historically valued as a medicinal herb. Traditionally used for nervous agitation, insomnia, and digestive complaints, hops combine bitter tonic effects with sedative and relaxant properties. They are especially helpful for restlessness tied to tension or digestive stagnation. Unlike fast sedatives, hops flower have a balancing, steadying influence that works best when taken consistently or in combination with other nervines.
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👉 Tastes describe the initial impression a food or herb leaves on the tongue, and they reveal its deeper actions in the body, shaping digestion, circulation, and tissue response.
Bitter – Hops have a strongly bitter taste that stimulates the digestive system, increasing appetite, bile flow, and the secretion of digestive juices while also helping to clear excess heat.
Aromatic – The resinous, aromatic quality of hops carries volatile oils that soothe spasms, calm agitation, and promote a sense of relaxation throughout the body. -
👉Qualities describe the felt nature of a substance or practice, and how it acts in the body beyond nutrients or chemistry.
Drying – Reduces excess dampness and secretions in the body, particularly in the digestive tract and tissues, by drawing out moisture.
Relaxing – Eases nervous excitation, irritability, and muscle tension, encouraging both physical and mental rest.
Stabilizing – Ground overactivity in the body and mind, creating steadiness in both the nervous and digestive systems. -
Infusion/Tea: Traditionally used as a calming bedtime tea, though strongly bitter.
Tincture/Glycerite: Alcohol or glycerin extracts preserve bitter acids and nervine resins.
Capsules/Powder: Sometimes used for digestive stimulation, though bitterness is best experienced on the tongue.
Pillow Sachets: Historically used as a sleep aid by placing dried hops flowers near the pillow for mild inhaled sedative effects.
Indicated Patterns by Affinity
👉 Indicated patterns describe the functional state of the body and its organs and/or tissues, showing whether they are dry, atrophied, too damp (pressure), stagnant, lax, inflammed, sluggish, tense or underactive. The Primary Indicated Pattern is the main state where this remedy works best. Secondary Indicated Pattern(s) are the patterns that often develop over time when the primary state is left unaddressed. The primary pattern must be supported first, as this allows the secondary patterns to naturally ease or resolve.
👉Affinities are the organ systems and tissues where the remedy acts most strongly.
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Excitation (Primary Indicated Pattern) – When the nervous system is overstimulated, producing agitation, restlessness, or insomnia.
Examples: sleeplessness with agitation, racing thoughts at night, irritability with nervous tension.Tension (Secondary Indicated Pattern) – When nervous excitation leads to tightness, spasm, or stress-related holding in the body.
Examples: stress headaches with agitation, muscular tightness linked to nervous overdrive, digestive gripping from nervous tension. -
Congestive (Primary Indicated Pattern) – When digestion is sluggish, heavy, and boggy from excess dampness or stagnation. Bitters stimulate movement, dry excess damp, and help clear wastes.
Examples: sluggish appetite with fullness, bloating and heaviness after meals, coated tongue with digestive stagnation, food “sitting heavy” in the gut.Irritative (Secondary Indicated Pattern) – When irritation and heat arise from congestive stagnation, hops’ cooling bitters can soothe and move things along. Examples: sour stomach with sluggish bile flow, burning indigestion after heavy/fatty meals, irritated gut lining from damp-heat congestion.
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Inflammatory (Primary Indicated Pattern) – When tissues are hot, reactive, and inflamed, needing calming and cooling.
Examples: feverish states, inflammatory gut irritation, immune overactivity with redness/heat.Auto-Inflammatory (Secondary Indicated Pattern) – When inflammation cycles become self-driven and persistent.
Examples: recurring low-grade fevers, chronic inflammatory pain, skin eruptions worsened by immune overactivity. -
Congestive (Primary Indicated Pattern) – When bile flow is stagnant, leading to heaviness or digestive congestion. Examples: sluggish bile release, heaviness after fatty meals, bitter taste with liver stagnation.
Toxic Congestion (Secondary Indicated Pattern) – When waste buildup overwhelms detox pathways.
Examples: coated tongue, dull headaches from sluggish detox, acne or skin flare-ups tied to liver stagnation. -
Congestive Pressure (Primary Indicated Pattern) – When fluid buildup or poor elimination leads to swelling and pressure. Examples: edema with urinary sluggishness, pressure sensations in kidneys or bladder, fluid retention after inactivity.
Dilution (Secondary Indicated Pattern) – When diuretic action thins fluids excessively. Examples: frequent urination, diluted urine, electrolyte loss from overuse.
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Congestive (Primary Indicated Pattern) – When wastes, fluids, or heat are trapped, needing release through the skin. Examples: fever with trapped heat, flushed eruptions with congestion, skin breakouts that improve after sweating.
The bitter + cooling nature of hops reduces internal heat and gently encourages diaphoresis. This helps move out trapped damp-heat and opens the skin as a route of elimination.Irritative (Secondary Indicated Pattern) – When sweating or purging aggravates skin sensitivity. Examples: chafing after heavy sweating, irritated or rashy skin after prolonged diaphoresis, rawness from over-release of fluids.
Its anti-inflammatory and mildly astringent compounds soothe irritation after heat release. The bitters calm over-reactivity, while the tannins tone tissues so the skin isn’t left raw or over-exposed.
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👉 Medicinal actions describe the specific ways a food influences organ systems and body functions.
Nervous System
Nervine Sedative – Calms agitation and supports sleep without dependency.
Anxiolytic – Reduces mild anxiety and restlessness.
Hypnotic (mild) – Supports natural sleep onset in insomnia.
Nervine Bitter – Combines calming nervine action with digestive stimulation.
Analgesic (mild) – Provides gentle relief from pain associated with nervous tension or stress headaches.
Digestive System
Bitter Tonic – Stimulates gastric secretions, bile, and appetite.
Carminative (aromatic) – Reduces gas and digestive tension.
Cholagogue – Enhances bile flow for sluggish digestion.
Reproductive System
Phytoestrogenic (mild) – Contains prenylflavonoids with weak estrogenic effects, studied for menopausal support (hot flashes, night sweats).
Immune & Inflammatory System
Anti-inflammatory (mild) – Reduces minor tissue irritation and inflammation.
Antimicrobial (mild) – Bitter resins inhibit the growth of certain bacteria and fungi.
Immune Calming – Eases excessive immune reactivity linked to stress or inflammation.Liver & Gallbladder
Hepatic Bitter – Stimulates liver function, aiding detoxification and metabolic balance.
Cholagogue – Promotes bile secretion, reducing sluggish digestion and helping clear metabolic wastes.Urinary System
Diuretic (mild) – Increases urine output, assisting in the clearance of excess fluids and metabolic byproducts.
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👉 Constituents are the natural compounds in a food that give rise to its actions in the body.
Bitter acids (humulone, lupulone), essential oils (myrcene, humulene, caryophyllene), flavonoids (xanthohumol, prenylflavonoids), tannins, resins.
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2nd Degree – Moderately strong; acts as both a bitter digestive and a nervine sedative, best suited for ongoing but non-severe conditions.
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May enhance the effects of sedative medications (benzodiazepines, barbiturates).
May interact with alcohol (additive sedative effects).
Possible estrogenic activity – caution with hormone-sensitive conditions (though evidence is mixed).
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Generally safe when used in moderation.
Avoid in severe depression (may exacerbate lethargy).
Use caution in those with low libido or hormonal imbalance (mild phytoestrogen activity).
Not recommended during pregnancy (uterine stimulant effects reported in high doses).v
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Traditional Sources
Grieve, M. (1931). A Modern Herbal. London: Jonathan Cape. (Notes hops as a sedative, digestive bitter, and sleep aid, including traditional use in pillows for insomnia.)
Cook, W. H. (1869). The Physiomedical Dispensatory. (Describes hops as a tonic bitter, nervine, and remedy for restlessness and digestive weakness.)
Ellingwood, F. (1919). American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy. (Highlights sedative, hypnotic, and digestive stimulant uses of hops.)
Modern Sources
Blumenthal, M., et al. (2000). Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs. American Botanical Council. (Covers hops as a sedative, bitter tonic, and mild antimicrobial.)
Bone, K., & Mills, S. (2013). Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy. 2nd ed. Churchill Livingstone. (Details pharmacology and clinical uses of hops for insomnia, anxiety, and digestion.)
EMA (European Medicines Agency). (2014). Community Herbal Monograph on Humulus lupulus L., flos. (Monograph supporting hops for mild sleep disturbances and nervous tension.)
Hoffmann, D. (2003). Medical Herbalism. Healing Arts Press. (Profiles hops as a nervine bitter, sedative, and digestive aid.)
Zanoli, P., & Zavatti, M. (2008). “Pharmacognostic and pharmacological profile of Humulus lupulus L.” Phytotherapy Research, 22(5), 475–487. (Comprehensive review of hops constituents and actions including sedative and phytoestrogenic effects.)
