Finally, science has figured out how to incorporate drinking into our health! Werner Kaminsky, a research associate professor of chemistry at the University of Washington, has reportedly stumbled upon a new finding relating some characteristics of beer to potential pharmaceutical uses, as published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition this January.

Humulones, the component of hops that distinguishes the taste of different beers, undergo molecular rearrangements during the brewing process to yield a five-carbon ring with two side chains. The side chains can be placed in four different positions around the ring, which affects the molecule’s ability to interact with surrounding compounds. In December, humulones were shown to be possible protectors against certain infections. 

Humulones have a potential in leading production of pharmaceuticals to treat diabetes, certain types of cancer, and other ailments. The way these humulones interact with their surroundings, as well as each other, explains the mechanisms behind specific treatments in the medical field as well as disastrous results that pharmaceuticals can have to the human body.

Beer, by itself, does not have the same potential
medical benefits as mentioned in the article. 
Some of you might recall the drug thalidomide (those of you who took Drug Discovery and Development). This substance was sold in Europe from 1957 to 1962 to treat morning sickness in pregnant women. While the drug did stop morning sickness, thalidomide caused severe birth defects in women who used the drug and was banned soon after. The isotope of thalidomide that harmed unborn children was different than the one that just cured morning sickness. The same goes for humulones; certain isotopes of humulones are toxic while others are beneficial.  Kaminsky compares the catastrophic effects of certain strains of thalidomide to what he has observed in humulones.

In order to determine which isotopes were created during specific brewing processes, Kaminsky received samples of acids that were collected and purified by coauthors Jan Urban, Clinton Dahlberg, and Brian Carroll from KinDex Theraputics. The humulones in those acids were crystallized and observed by X-ray crystallography to define their molecular structure.

“Some of the compounds have been shown to affect specific illnesses”, Kaminsky said, “while some with a slight difference in the arrangement of carbon atoms have been ineffective.”

Maybe one day we will see a set of pharmaceutical drugs that are derived from this process Kaminsky is researching. I don’t know about you, but I would love to tell people that beer is the cure to my sickness.

Once again science, you rule.

-Kayte Bataille