New laboratory findings published in the journalChemical Research in Toxicology, suggest hops, a cone-like flower, could reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Led by Judy Bolton, professor and head of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy in the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Pharmacy, researchers applied hops extract to “two different breast cell lines to see if they would affect estrogen metabolism,” which Bolton notes as a key mechanism in the development of breast cancer.
Researchers found 6-prenylnarigenin or 6-PN, was able to boost a detoxification pathway, which other studies have indicated as a link for lowering the risk of breast cancer.
“We need to further explore this possibility, but our results suggest that 6-PN could have anti-cancer effects,” said Bolton.
Researchers also studied 8-prenylnarigenin (8-PN), isoxanthohumol (IX) and xanthohumol (XH); however 8-PN was the only one to show a slight boost of metabolism in breast cells.
Research for the study was funded by the National Institute of Health grants, from the Office of Dietary Supplements and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
Posted On WholeFoods Magazine, September 2016, Online 7/20/2016,
