The conelike female flowers of hops are the ones picked for use in both beer and herbal medicine. Female hop pickers can suffer disruption or complete absence of menstruation due to the absorption of the oil through their hands. This is due to the oestrogenic principles in hops, and accounts for its traditional aphrodisiac effect in men. ⁽¹⁾ In women hops are excellent for regulating and balancing hormonal production, especially for treating those imbalances due to stress and nervousness. Hops is also useful for stimulating milk production. ⁽²⁾

Found in the wild in Europe and Asia, fresh hops provide the bitters used in breweries since the beginning of the fourteenth century. Aged hops are sedatives and have long been a traditional cure for insomnia, a number of phytochemicals in hops are possess sedative and muscle-relaxing qualities. Other compounds depress the central nervous system.

1. Richard Mabey. The New Age Herbalist (1988)
2. Rosemary Gladstar Herbal Healing for Women (1993)
3. Phyllis A. Balch Prescription for Herbal Healing (2002)