# Hop (Humulus lupulus)

**Lupoli**

**Known today as.** *Humulus lupulus*.

Kind: Plant

## What did Canale use it for?

Syrup of hops in the preparative for the melancholic (ch. 3).

## What does modern science say?

Hops are a traditional mild calming remedy, which suits the purpose here; the effect is modest.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **humulone**: the bitter acid
- **lupulone**: 
- **xanthohumol**: 
- **2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol**: the sedative, formed as the cones age

**Mechanism.** The bitter acids preserve beer; 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol is sedative in animals, the basis of the hop pillow and of hops with valerian in sleep remedies; 8-prenylnaringenin is among the strongest plant oestrogens known.

**Dose.** No toxicity; dermatitis in hop-pickers.

**Standing.** Approved in Europe as a traditional remedy for restlessness and sleep, usually with valerian.

## What lore surrounds it?

Thiselton-Dyer notes that “the cowslip, and the hop, have the reputation of inducing sleep,” and the growers' proverb “that ‘hops make or break,’” since “an estate has been lost or won in the course of a single season.”

Grieve describes the farmhouse “stingo” brewed from wayside herbs, the hop tea that “consists of Kentish Hop leaves, dried, crushed under rollers and then mixed with ordinary Ceylon or Indian Tea,” and the old honeycomb “from the thatch of an ancient cottage, filled with rich and nearly black honey,” boiled into syrup for herb beer.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Hildegard of Bingen.** Writes in her *Physica* that the hop makes the melancholy of a man grow, but that its bitterness keeps drinks from spoiling.

## Sources

- Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. (1889). *The Folk-lore of Plants*. Project Gutenberg #10118.
- Grieve, M. (1931). *A Modern Herbal*, “Mints.” botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mints-39.html
- Grieve, M. (1931). *A Modern Herbal*, “Hops.” botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hops--32.html
- Zanoli, P., and Zavatti, M. (2008). “Pharmacognostic and pharmacological profile of *Humulus lupulus* L.” *Journal of Ethnopharmacology* 116.

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*Hop.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-01. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/hop

Historical description, not medical advice.