Beer extracts reported to have anti-inflammatory effect

Finally, research results we've been waiting for...

02/03/2006 - Extracts from any type of beer reduced inflammatory markers, say Austrian scientists who performed the in vitro experiments.

“On the basis of our new findings, beer must be added to the list of beverages with potentially anti-inflammatory components, but our findings must not be understood as an encouragement to drink alcohol,” said lead researcher Professor Dietmar Fuchs from Innsbruck Medical University.
The study, published in the journal International Immunopharmacology (Vol. 6, pp. 390-395) studies the effects of different beer extracts, including light beer, wheat beer, and non-alcoholic beer, on the production of neopterin (a marker for inflammation) and levels of tryptophan (the hormone – low levels are associated with more inflammation).

The scientists used peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from whole blood cells. Inflammation was stimulated using phytohaemagglutinin (PHA).

“Beer was found to suppress degradation of trypophan and production of neopterin in PMBC stimulated with PHA,” wrote Fuchs and his team.

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