Humulus lupulus
Description: Hops are sedating, but the chemicals responsible for this effect, humulone and lupulone, have to be aged for one to two years before they form their sedative chemicals. Fresh hops provide bitters that stimulate digestion; these bitters are also found in the aged herb.
In folk medicine, washes made with hops and waters are often used to treat sores and skin injuries. Hops teas are also used to relieve the pain of bladder infections.
The hops used in beer are used "fresher," so drinking beer does not have the same effect as taking hops as an herb.
The German food chemist Udo Pollmer notes that soaking red or white meats in beer, before grilling, reduces the formation of cancer-causing HCA's (heterocyclic amines), and actually prevents the formation of these compounds, although "lite" or alcohol-free beers do not have this effect. Another way to avoid the HCA's, of course, is to serve vegan entrees.
Typical Preparations:
Teas, infusions, tinctures, or encapsulations. Is also popularly used in dream and sleep pillows and many other cosmetic formulations.
Medicinal Precautions:
The hops in beer are responsible for an unfortunate condition in men known in German herbal medicine as "beer drinker's droop," or erectile dysfunction. Avoiding excessive consumption of beer or hops helps men retain potency.
Magickal Associations: Hot, Masculine, Mars, Air, Healing, Sleep, Ritual Beverages, dreams. Use in exorcism incenses and mixtures, as well as healing sachets.
What you receive: Herb that has been cut & sifted or ground and comes in a food grade poly Ziploc baggie to retain freshness.
