Hops – Humulus lupulus
Everyone knows hops as one of the main ingredients of beer. However, the climbing plant has even more potential: it contains the power of calmness. The healing properties of hops gently promote sleep at night and sooth the nerves during the day.
For peaceful nights and calm nerves
Fields of application
Hops have a calming, sleep-inducing and antioxidant effect. It is usually used in combination with valerian or other medicinal plants to treat restlessness, nervousness and sleep disorders. Its ingredients include essential oils, bitter substances, flavonoids and tannins. In the Middle Ages, monks observed that the yellow-green cones inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi, and since then hops have been used as a preservative in beer brewing.
Botanical characteristics
Every year, the hop plant grows new shoots from its underground rootstock. The plant can climb up to six metres in height. In the wild, it prefers to grow in locations with sufficient moisture, such as on forest edges, in clearings or in scrub. Hops belong to the hemp family, and as with cannabis, there is a male and a female plant. The bitter hop compounds humulone and lupulone, which have a calming effect, are extracted from the female, unfertilised hop cones.