A compound in beer reduces metabolic syndrome? Hop to it

Can drinking beer help you lose weight? Probably not, but a compound found in beer might. Researchers have shown that a flavonoid found naturally in hops and beer significantly improved markers of systemic inflammation and metabolic syndrome, and also reduced weight gain in obese mice, according to a study published online in the journal Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

In this study, researchers gave different oral doses of the flavonoid xanthohumol to mice fed a high-fat diet. Of the 48 obese mice, 16 received a high dose, 16 received a low dose, and 16 were simply fed the same diet.

After 12 weeks, the mice taking the high dose of xanthohumol showed the most significant effects. In these mice, levels of LDL cholesterol had dropped by 80%, the inflammatory marker IL-6 went down by 78%, insulin by 42%, and leptin levels by 41%, as compared to the control mice.

Mice given the high dose also showed 22% less weight gain compared with the control mice, even though all three groups of mice continued to eat about the same amount of food.

“This is the first time we’ve seen one compound with the potential to address so many health problems,” said the study’s lead author Cristobal Miranda, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University (OSU), in Corvallis, OR. “These were very dramatic improvements.”

This study also found that mice given the high dose of xanthohumol had a 44% lower level of PCSK9, a protein known to clear LDL cholesterol from the blood. This indicates, for the first time, one of xanthohumol’s mechanisms of action because it would explain the flavonoid’s significant effect in lowering LDL cholesterol.

More research will be required to show safety and efficacy in humans, the researchers noted. But unfortunately for humans, this research won’t be carried out by drinking beer.

“Given the concentrations of xanthohumol found in beer (around 0.2 mg/L), it is unlikely that xanthohumol taken in the form of beer will provide beneficial effects in metabolic syndrome,” the authors wrote.

For comparison, a human adult would have to drink 3,500 pints of beer per day to obtain the equivalent high dose given to the mice in this study, the researchers calculated.

On the upside, humans could obtain that amount of xanthohumol in a dietary supplement taken once a day. That’s the ultimate goal, the researchers noted.

“After further study, this might provide an effective treatment for metabolic syndrome at a very low cost,” said corresponding author Fred Stevens, PhD, Principal Investigator of the Linus Pauling Institute and Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at OSU College of Pharmacy.