PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Los conos (flores femeninas) y las ramas.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Sedante, estomacal, narcótico, tónico y anafrodisíaco.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition:  Contiene lupulina (aceite esencial), es rica en hidrocarburos terpénicos (humuleno, micreno y cannabeno), resina, sales de potasio, ácido péctico y principios amargos.

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: Caminos de Santiago.

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs
 
 
There is an emerging consensus that the intent of most species concepts is to identify evolutionarily distinct lineages.  However, the criteria used to identify lineages differ among concepts depending on the perceived importance of various attributes of evolving populations.  We have examd. five different species criteria to ask whether the three taxonomic varieties of Humulus lupulus (hops) native to North America are distinct lineages.  Three criteria (monophyly, absence of genetic intermediates, and diagnosability) focus on evolutionary patterns and two (intrinsic reproductive isolation and niche specialization) consider evolutionary processes.  Phylogenetic anal. of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) data under a relaxed mol. clock, a stochastic Dollo substitution model, and parsimony identified all varieties as monophyletic, thus they satisfy the monophyly criterion for species delimitation.  Principal coordinate anal. and a Bayesian assignment procedure revealed deep genetic subdivisions and little admixt. between varieties, indicating an absence of genetic intermediates and compliance with the genotypic cluster species criterion.  Diagnostic morphol. and AFLP characters were found for all varieties, thus they meet the diagnosability criterion.  Natural history information suggests that reproductive isolating barriers may have evolved in var. pubescens, potentially qualifying it as a species under a criterion of intrinsic reproductive isolation.  Environmental niche modeling showed that the preferred habitat of var. neomexicanus is climatically unique, suggesting niche specialization and thus compliance with an ecol. species criterion.  Isolation by distance coupled with imperfect sampling can lead to erroneous lineage identification using some species criteria.
 Compliance with complementary pattern- and process-oriented criteria provides powerful corroboration for a species hypothesis and mitigates the necessity for comprehensive sampling of the entire species range, a practical impossibility in many systems.  We hypothesize that var. pubescens maintains its genetic identity, despite substantial niche overlap with var. lupuloides, via the evolution of partial reproductive isolating mechanisms.  Variety neomexicanus, conversely, will likely persist as a distinct lineage, regardless of limited gene flow with vars. lupuloides and pubescens because of ecol. isolation-adaptation to the unique conditions of the Rocky Mountain cordillera.  Thus, we support recognition of vars. neomexicanus and pubescens as species, but delay making a recommendation for var. lupuloides until sampling of genetic variation is complete or a stable biol. process can be identified to explain its obsd. genetic divergence.

ÚLTIMOS AVANCES EN LA QUÍMICA Y ACTIVIDADES BACTERIOLÓGICAS EN LAS PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants, last advances on chemistry and bacteria activities on the medicinal herbs


1) Humulus lupulus L., Cannabaceae, is commonly used as light sedative and anxiolytics in folk medicine.  HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn represents a powerful tool for the anal. of natural products, since it can simultaneously provide a UV chromatogram and significant structural information about compds. in complex mixt.  The aim of this work was characterize the constituents present in hydroethanolic ext.  Compds. 1-9 were tentatively characterized on the basis of UV, MS/MS, after reversed phase sepn., retention time and literature data.  The main phenolic compds. (based on peak area) were characterized as hulupinic acid (9), cohulupone (8), two oxidized hop alfa-bitter acids (principal constituents), one being a oxidized cohumulinone (5) and the other an oxidized humulinone (7) derivs., together with a procyanidin dimer B (3), flavonoids rutin (4) and kaempferol-7-O-rutinoside (6).  This plant known, due to anxiolytic property and beer flavoring, showed oxidized hop bitter acids, as principal constituents, in its hydroethanolic ext.
 
2) The present review describes the morphol., phytochem. and ethnopharmacol. aspects of Humulus lupulus L. (Cannabinaceae) and summarizes the most interesting findings obtained in the preclin. and clin. research related to the plant.  The female inflorescences of Humulus lupulus (hops), well-known as bittering agent in brewing industry, have long been used in traditional medicine mainly to treat sleep disturbances.  However the sedative activity is still under investigation in order to recognize the active principles responsible for the neuropharmacol. effects obsd. in lab. animals, and their mechanism of action.  Other traditional applications of hops as stomachic, antibacterial and antifungal remedy have been supported by in vivo and/or in vitro investigations.  In recent years some prenylated chalcones present in hops have received much attention for their biol. effects: in particular, xanthohumol has been shown to exert cancer chemopreventive activity in in vitro expts., while 8-prenylnaringenin has been characterized as one of the most potent phytoestrogens isolated until now.  Nevertheless much addnl. work is needed to open up new biomedical application of these compds.
 
3) Field assessments of resistance to powdery mildew of 103 hop cultivars, analyses of hop essential oil and correlation between the score for powdery mildew and the relative percentage of essential oil compds. were performed over three years.  Seven susceptibility markers (peaks 29 (methyl-5-methyl-hexanoate), 30 (myrcene), 34 (iso-amyl-iso-butyrate), 38 (1-8-cineole), 56 (methyl-octanoate), 88 (Me decanoate) and 122 (undetd. peak)) and 7 resistance markers (peaks 112 (santalene), 114 (germacrene-D), 118 (alpha-selinene), 138 (caryophyllene epoxide), 26, 135 and 158 (undetd. peaks)) were selected from peaks with a pos. or neg. correlation between powdery mildew scores and their presence in the essential oil of extremely susceptible or resistance cultivars.  The no. and value of resistance/susceptibility markers decreased with an increase in the level of cultivar susceptibility/resistance.  Susceptible cultivars mainly appeared to contain North American germplasm, while more resistant cultivars belong to European hops.  Anal. of the presence/absence of the selected markers showed that the absence of susceptibility markers, particularly 30, 34 and 38, can be of practical value in resistance hop breeding.
 

The seed packets (strobiles) of the female plant contain compounds that are sedative and useful in treating insomnia, restlessness, and anxiety. They also contain a bitter principle that relieves indigestion and improves appetite. The well-known bitter taste of beer is due to hops. Beginning in the ninth century, adding hops to the brewing process gave beer clarity, flavor, and a longer shelf life. This was a marked departure from the traditional process of malt fermentation. The antibiotic effect of hops caused yeast to remain as the main fermenting agent in the process. The use of hops in beer making was banned in England until the 16th century in an effort to protect against changing the nature of English ales. Harvesting hops can be dangerous because small hairs on the strobiles can become dislodged and irritate the eyes. Collectors also may suffer dermatitis, cardiac disturbance, and breathlessness. Hops sedatives should not be used in pregnancy or by patients with estrogen dependant breast cancer.
Toxicity:
Hops sedatives should not be used in pregnancy or by patients with estrogen-dependant breast cancer.

Part used::
Female flowers and seeds (Strobiles)

Origin:
Europe

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Origin:
Native to Europe and Asia. Conditions for its successful cultivation are reported to exist in Kashmir and parts of Himachal Pradesh.

Action:
Flowers—sedative, hypnotic, nervine tonic, diuretic, spasmolytic on smooth muscle, analgesic, astringent. Used for nervous diseases, intestinal cramps, menopause, insomnia, neuralgia and nervous diarrhoea. Also as a tonic in stomach and liver affections. As a blood cleanser, the root is used like sarsaparilla.

1) ALFARO, Txumari, Plantas y remedios naturales de los Caminos de Santiago. Barcelona: B.S.A. 2008, p. 130.

2) REEVES, Patrick A.; RICHARDS, Christopher M.   Species Delimitation under the General Lineage Concept: An Empirical Example Using Wild North American Hops (Cannabaceae: Humulus lupulus). Systematic Biology. 2011, vol.60, p.45-59.
 
3) NEGRI, Giuseppina; DI SANTI, Daniel; TABACH, Ricardo. Bitter acids from hydroethanolic extracts of Humulus lupulus L., Cannabaceae, used as anxiolytic. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia. 2010, vol.20, nº6, p.850-859.
 
4)  SHAH, Biren N., et al. Phyto-pharmacological profile of Humulus lupulus.   Pharmacology. 2010, vol.1, p.719-736.
 
5) CERENAK, Andreja; KRALJ, Dragica; JAVORNIK, Branka.  Compounds of essential oils as markers of hop resistance (Humulus lupulus) to powdery mildew (Podosphaera macularis).  Acta Agriculturae Slovenica. 2009, vol.93, nº3, p.267-273.

6) Hull, Kathleen; Photog. Hull, Meredith /Indiana Medical History Museum: Guide to the Medicinal Plant Garden./ USA: Indiana Medical History Museum. 2010. -- p. 58.

7) Khare, C.P./ Indian Medicinal Plants. -- Nueva Dheli: Springer, 2007 . - p. 836.