Beer's Hops May Help Slow Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Development

Got beer? A new study touts that a component in hops could potentially fight off neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Xanthohumol (Xn) is a polyphenol chalcone present in hops that has been gaining attention for its pharmacological activities, according to research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

With the mindset that oxidative damage to neuronal cells could spur the development of brain diseases, a group of scientists decided to test how Xn—which has antioxidation elements, cardiovascular protection, and anticancer properties—would react in brain cells.

The researchers synthesized Xn in 7 steps and found it served a neuroprotective function against oxidative, stress-induced neuronal cell damage in PC12 cells. They also saw that pretreating PC12 cells with Xn upregulated certain cytoprotective genes.

Their results suggested that Xn could both protect neuronal cells and help slow down brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.