Humulus lupulus L. is a medicinal plant whose therapeutic and healthy values are confirmed by a wellestablished use in traditional medicine and by biological activities published in literature. These findings are summarized in the monographs prepared by WHO (2001) and ESCOP (2003) and allowed the inclusion of dried inflorescences of hops in the European Pharmacopoeia, though its main standing is closely linked to the production of beer. In recent years, Italy is progressively re-discovering hops, both for an excellent crafts production of beer and the growing attention of consumers towards high quality local products. Those facts and the lack of characterization of cultivars grown in Italy lead to botanical, genetic and phytochemical studies aimed at description of features of hop cultivated in Italy starting from foreign or own cultivars, and selection of autochthone cultivars to be use in brewery. In this context, we carried out a two-year phytochemical study of two foreign cultivars grown in Northern Italy to evaluate influences of in-field practice on bitter acid composition, volatile organic fractions and polyphenols, particularly for their potential application in traditional medicine. From a comparison between samplings of the two years, it is apparent that Saaz hop revealed a good stability in its volatile emission. The main compound present in its headspace was myrcene (84.4 and 89.1% in the first and in the second year, respectively), followed by β-pinene (2.0 and 2.6%), α-humulene (5.9 and 2.1%) and β-caryophyllene (2.9 and 1.1%). On the contrary, the Cascade hop showed a very variable profile of emission. In the first year, the main volatiles detected were myrcene (29.1%), β-caryophyllene (28.1%) and α-humulene (27.0%). The same compounds passed in the second year to 93.0, 0.4 and 0.5%, respectively. This trend was also observed for the chemical classes of volatiles. For Saaz the most represented one was that of monoterpene hydrocarbons (88.3 and 94.0%). Conversely, for Cascade hop the main chemicals emitted during the first year were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (77.7%), while in the second one they were replaced by monoterpene hydrocarbons (97.7%). The two harvests evidenced also different quantitative composition of both bitter acids and polyphenols.
Discovering hop in Italy
FLAMINI, GUIDO;ASCRIZZI, ROBERTA;
2015-01-01
Abstract
Humulus lupulus L. is a medicinal plant whose therapeutic and healthy values are confirmed by a wellestablished use in traditional medicine and by biological activities published in literature. These findings are summarized in the monographs prepared by WHO (2001) and ESCOP (2003) and allowed the inclusion of dried inflorescences of hops in the European Pharmacopoeia, though its main standing is closely linked to the production of beer. In recent years, Italy is progressively re-discovering hops, both for an excellent crafts production of beer and the growing attention of consumers towards high quality local products. Those facts and the lack of characterization of cultivars grown in Italy lead to botanical, genetic and phytochemical studies aimed at description of features of hop cultivated in Italy starting from foreign or own cultivars, and selection of autochthone cultivars to be use in brewery. In this context, we carried out a two-year phytochemical study of two foreign cultivars grown in Northern Italy to evaluate influences of in-field practice on bitter acid composition, volatile organic fractions and polyphenols, particularly for their potential application in traditional medicine. From a comparison between samplings of the two years, it is apparent that Saaz hop revealed a good stability in its volatile emission. The main compound present in its headspace was myrcene (84.4 and 89.1% in the first and in the second year, respectively), followed by β-pinene (2.0 and 2.6%), α-humulene (5.9 and 2.1%) and β-caryophyllene (2.9 and 1.1%). On the contrary, the Cascade hop showed a very variable profile of emission. In the first year, the main volatiles detected were myrcene (29.1%), β-caryophyllene (28.1%) and α-humulene (27.0%). The same compounds passed in the second year to 93.0, 0.4 and 0.5%, respectively. This trend was also observed for the chemical classes of volatiles. For Saaz the most represented one was that of monoterpene hydrocarbons (88.3 and 94.0%). Conversely, for Cascade hop the main chemicals emitted during the first year were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (77.7%), while in the second one they were replaced by monoterpene hydrocarbons (97.7%). The two harvests evidenced also different quantitative composition of both bitter acids and polyphenols.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
