Hops Common.

Common hop

A perennial herbaceous vine of the hemp family, 3-6 m long. The plant is dioecious. The stem is covered with cones.

The leaves are large, three- and five-parted, with long petioles. On female shoots, the leaves grow greatly after flowering, and the inflorescence takes on the appearance of a soft cone. Blooms in June - August. The fruit is a nut. Ripens in July - August.

Common hops are widespread in almost all regions of the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, Western and Eastern Siberia, the Far East and Central Asia. It grows along river valleys, in damp broad-leaved forests, bushes, along hedges and in the mountains, rising to the middle belt. Cultivated on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. Grown in gardens and orchards.

Young shoots are used to make cabbage soup and as a substitute for asparagus and beans. In brewing it is used for fermenting wort, in baking - for leavening dough. Can serve as feed for large and small cattle, horses and pigs.

The fiber obtained from the stems is suitable for making paper, burlap and rope.

Medicinal raw materials are cones, roots and leaves. The cones are collected in mid-August, at the initial stage of ripening, when they are still greenish-yellow (bright green indicates that the cones are unripe, and yellow-brown indicates that they are overripe). They are cut off with their legs so that they do not crumble when drying. Cones with protruding and greatly enlarged scales cannot be collected. Dry in the shade, laying out in a thin layer and turning over often. Raw materials should not have impurities or parts affected by mold. Store in bags in a dry place for 3 years. Leaves are harvested during the flowering period of plants. The roots are dug up in the fall. Dry in the usual way. Store in a dry place in a closed container for 2 years.

Hop fruits contain organic acids, essential oil, alkaloids, vitamin B1, tannins, flavonoids, anthocyanides and chalcones. The leaves contain carbohydrates, vitamins B1, B2 and C, carotene, phenol carbonic acids and flavonoids. The glands of the bracts of female inflorescences contain essential oil, which includes humulene, luparone, geraniol and other bitter substances.

Plant preparations have a sedative, hypnotic, diuretic, anticonvulsant, analgesic and antibacterial effect. Various parts of hops are used in folk medicine in many countries. An infusion of cones is used for diseases of the nervous system as a sedative, hypnotic and anticonvulsant. They are useful for edema, peptic ulcers, inflammation of the gastric mucosa, inflammatory diseases of the kidneys, urinary and gall bladders.

An infusion of unripe fruits is prescribed for thrombophlebitis, pulmonary and skin tuberculosis, malaria, syphilis and as an anthelmintic. It is used externally for acne and to strengthen hair. In the form of baths, hop fruits are effective for high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. It is used for skin and breast cancer, for ailments during menopause and for uric acid diathesis.

To prepare the infusion, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water into 2 tablespoons of infructescences (cones), leave for 2 hours and filter. Take 1/2 cup 4 times a day before meals. As an analgesic, sedative and hypnotic, hop cones are used in a mixture with motherwort herb in a 1:1 ratio with the addition of 1/10 of mint. To prepare the infusion, place 1 tablespoon of the mixture in a thermos and pour 0.5 liters of boiling water. Leave overnight. Take 1/2 cup 3 times a day before meals.