Hop-Derived Prenylflavonoids and Their Importance in Brewing Technology – A Review

Abstract

Beer is one of the world’s most popular beverage products. Beer is all natural ingredients, so moderate consumption contributes to a healthy daily diet. Beer contains a large variety of phenolic compounds which are derived from the processed cereal (70%) and hops (30%) and which are responsible for the antioxidant activity of the beverage. Hops ( Humulus lupulus L.) are an essential ingredient of beer and are a source of polyphenols that contain the prenyl or geranyl group in the chemical structure, xanthohumol, isoxanthohumol, 6-prenilnaringenin and 8-prenylnaringenin. The prenylflavonoid's compounds found in beer have different biological activities demonstrated in vitro as antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, estrogenic and antiviral. Important quantities of prenylflavonoids are lost during wort production. The losses may be explained by the low solubility of these compounds and its insufficient extraction in wort. Using appropriate engineering strategies, improvements in the recovery of prenylflavonoids from hops into beer has involved increased hopping rate, improved brewing process, especially wort boiling, increased colored malt yields and management of beer fermentations. Beer is one of the world’s most popular beverage products. Beer is all natural ingredients, so moderate consumption contributes to a healthy daily diet. Beer contains a large variety of phenolic compounds which are derived from the processed cereal (70%) and hops (30%) and which are responsible for the antioxidant activity of the beverage. Hops ( Humulus lupulus L.) are an essential ingredient of beer and are a source of polyphenols that contain the prenyl or geranyl group in the chemical structure, xanthohumol, isoxanthohumol, 6-prenilnaringenin and 8-prenylnaringenin. The prenylflavonoid's compounds found in beer have different biological activities demonstrated in vitro as antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, estrogenic and antiviral. Important quantities of prenylflavonoids are lost during wort production. The losses may be explained by the low solubility of these compounds and its insufficient extraction in wort. Using appropriate engineering strategies, improvements in the recovery of prenylflavonoids from hops into beer has involved increased hopping rate, improved brewing process, especially wort boiling, increased colored malt yields and management of beer fermentations.