Effects of hop bitter acids, bitter components in beer, on cognition in healthy adults

A study aimed to investigate the effects of matured hop bitter acids (MHBAs) on human cognition, mental fatigue, and mood state. In a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled study, 60 healthy adults (age 45–64 years) with self-awareness of cognitive decline were randomly divided into 2 groups and received either orally administered MHBAs (35 mg/day) or placebo for 12 weeks.
Cognitive functions and mental states were assessed using neuropsychological tests or questionnaires at baseline and weeks 6 and 12 of the intervention.
The change in verbal fluency score at week 6 compared with that at baseline was significantly higher in the MHBAs-treated group compared with the placebo group (P = 0.034), and Stroop test score at week 12 was significantly higher in the MHBAs-treated group compared with the placebo
group (P = 0.019). Furthermore, subjective fatigue and anxiety at week 12 were significantly improved in the MHBAs-treated group (P = 0.008 and 0.043, respectively) compared with the placebo group.
The study authors say that this is the first study to evaluate the effects of bitter ingredients in beer on cognition, subjective mood, and mental fatigue in a clinical trial and that their findings suggest that hop-derived bitter acids might be beneficial for cognition and mood state.
Source: Effects of hop bitter acids, bitter components in beer, on cognition in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial. Takafumi Fukuda, Kuniaki Obara, Jiro Saito, Satoshi Umeda, and Yasuhisa Ano. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Just Accepted Manuscript.