Hops (
Humulus lupulus) is a perennial fast-growing, twining, climbing plant of the Cannabaceae family. It has numerous rough, prickly stems that grow up to 20 feet in length and produces yellow to yellowish-green flowers that hang in panicles or catkins, depending on the sex of the plant. It produces scaly, pale yellow-green, cone-like fruits that are develop from the female flowers. Hops are well-known for its use in making beer. The bitter, aromatic taste of beer is mostly due to the hops content.
H. lupulus contains high amounts of estrogen and numerous bioactive compounds, including lupulone, a beta-acid derived from hops. Specific applications studied in poultry include:
- Gastrointestinal protection: Broilers fed 30 mg/kg of hops beta-acids showed a decrease in C. perfringens strains that cause necrotic enteritis in chickens.
Poultry Specific Studies
| Type | Plant Part | Dosage | Specific use | Results | Ref |
|---|
| Broilers | | 200 to 400 mg/kg diet | GI health | Showed beneficial effects on gut morphostructure indices, including intestinal wall thickness, crypt depth and the villus height to crypt depth ratio, in 35- and 42-day old birds. | K Zabek et al., 2020 |
| Broilers | | 30 mg/kg diet | performance | demonstrated positive effects on performance | C Bortoluzzi et al., 2014 |
References
- Zbek, Katarzyna, et al. "Dietary Phytogenic Combination with Hops and a Mixture of a Free Butyrate Acidifier and Gluconic Acid Maintaining the Health Status of the Gut and Performance in Chickens " Animals 10.8 (2020)
- Forino M, Pace S, Chianese G, Santagostini L, Werner M, Weinigel C, Rummler S, Fico G, Werz O, Taglialatela-Scafati O.. "Humudifucol and Bioactive Prenylated Polyphenols from Hops (Humulus lupulus cv. "Cascade")." J Nat Prod. (2016)
- M Di Stante. "Nutritional Values for Hops" Livestrong.com (2015)
- Winiarska-Mieczan, A., Payszka, M., & Kwiatkowska, K. "Effects of chicken feed herbal additives on the breeding performance, slaughter yield and mechanical and morphometric parameters of chicken tibia bones" Medycyna Weterynaryjna (2014)
- Bortoluzzi, C., Menten, J. F. M., Romano, G. G., Pereira, R., & Napty, G. S. . "Effect of hops beta-acids (Humulus lupulus) on performance and intestinal health of broiler chickens." The Journal of Applied Poultry Research (2014)
- Tillman GE, Haas GJ, Wise MG, Oakley B, Smith MA, Siragusa GR.. "Chicken intestine microbiota following the administration of lupulone, a hop-based antimicrobial." FEMS Microbiol Ecol. (2011)
- Siragusa GR, Haas GJ, Matthews PD, Smith RJ, Buhr RJ, Dale NM, Wise MG.. "Antimicrobial activity of lupulone against Clostridium perfringens in the chicken intestinal tract jejunum and caecum." J Antimicrob Chemother. (2008)
- Vanhoecke B, Derycke L, Van Marck V, Depypere H, De Keukeleire D, Bracke M.. "Antiinvasive effect of xanthohumol, a prenylated chalcone present in hops (Humulus lupulus L.) and beer." Int J Cancer. (2005)
