New research into the polyphenolic compounds found in hop bracts, the part of the leaves not used in beer brewing, has successfully identified the anticaries and antiperiodontitis properties that the leaf exhibits.1

Tanaka et al. have previously documented the beneficial antioxidants found in bracts of hops that could be used in the fight against dental diseases,2,3 but until now the structural composition of these potentially valuable polyphenolic compounds had not been analysed. Using a novel sequential chromatographic technique, the structures of 39 compounds were expounded from a hop bract extract. Of these, substances were found to inhibit cellular adherence of Steptococcus mutans, cariogenic bacteria, and the effects of Porphyromonas gingivalis, a major periodontal pathogen. Tanaka told the BDJ: 'This study is very significant because it will be clear what substances in hop bracts prevent dental diseases. If the substances that prevent dental diseases are elucidated, concentrated mixtures of the substances might be produced by purification.'

Hop bracts are currently an unused waste product of beer brewing and this research could act as a driving force behind the industrial use of hop bracts in the prevention of dental diseases, as Tanaka adds: 'In the near future, toothpaste, gum, juice or tea containing the extract of the leaves will be developed [through] a simpler method of producing hop bract extract.'