Posted by Beer is one of the oldest and most popular beverages in the world. Its bitter taste comes from the hops used to flavor its many varieties. Previous studies suggestied that the hop could interfere with the accumulation of amyloid beta proteins associated with Alzheimer disease.
The researchers at the University of Milano-Bicocca studied the potential multitarget hop activity, in particular its ability to hinder Aβ1–42 peptide aggregation and cytotoxicity, its antioxidant properties, and its ability to enhance autophagy, promoting the clearance of misfolded and aggregated proteins in a human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line [1]. Moreover, in vivo hop efficacy using the transgenic CL2006Caenorhabditis elegans strain expressing the Aβ3–42 peptide was proved. By combining cell-free and in vitro assays with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and MS-based metabolomics, NMR molecular recognition studies, and atomic force microscopy, 2 compounds were identified as the main anti-Aβ components of hop: feruloyl and p-coumaroylquinic acids flavan-3-ol glycosides and procyanidins as the main anti-Aβ components of hop.
It is well-known for the followers of this blog, that beer contains also cyclodextrins as it was detected by HPLC-MS in 2006 by Szente et al. [2]. On the other hand, cyclodextrins can reduce the formation of Aβ fibrils through controlling the cholesterol level [3].
The question is arising wether cyclodextrins have a synergistic effect with the hop flavonoids? Wether cyclodextrin-fortified beer could be the remedy?
[1] Palmioli A, Mazzoni V, De Luigi A, et al. Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention through Natural Compounds: Cell-Free, In Vitro, and In Vivo Dissection of Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) Multitarget Activity. ACS Chem Neurosci. Published online October 25, 2022. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00444
[2] Szente L, Harangi J, Greiner M, Mandel F. Cyclodextrins found in enzyme- and heat-processed starch-containing foods. Chemistry & Biodiversity, 2006, 3(9), 1004-1014. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.200690098
[3] Simons M, Keller P, De Strooper B, Beyreuther K, Dotti, CG Simons K. Cholesterol depletion inhibits the generation of beta-amyloid in hippocampal neurons. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1998, 95(11), 6460-6464. doi: 10.1073/pnas.95.11.6460.