Menopause is a time of transition and change and it is experienced differently by every woman. To deal with some of the symptoms of menopause such as hot flushes some women turn to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to replace the hormones that have been lost including oestrogen. However, HRT has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. As a result, some women have turned to alternative therapies such as the herbal extract of hops. That is why these researchers wanted to investigate the effect of hops on breast cancer risk.
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The flower heads of the hop plant (Humulus lupulus) are famously used in brewing beer but as they contain substances dubbed “phytoestrogens” or plant-oestrogens (as these substances have a weak but oestrogen-like effect in the body) they are also used as alternative therapies in menopause.
For the new study, researchers tested hops extract on breast cancer cell lines. They found that one ingredient of hops in particular (6-prenylnaringenin) promoted a pathway used to remove toxins from cells, a pathway shown in other studies to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
The researchers concluded that this suggests that hops may have anti-cancer effects. Further research needs to be done, but it is encouraging news for those women seeking alternatives to HRT.
