The combinations of hop-derived polyphenols found in beer can collaboratively enhance estrogenic effects, especially when mixed with certain estrogenic pesticides.
Researchers utilized the alkaline phosphatase assay testing on Ishikawa cells to investigate the combined estrogenic effects of three signature compounds - xanthohumol, 8-prenylnaringenin, and iso-xanthohumol which mirror their concentration ratios in beer. Additionally, the natural flavonoid pattern was added to a mixture of representative estrogenic pesticides to measure their combined effects.
The results indicated cumulative to slightly synergistic effects between isolated flavonoids, as well as between the flavonoid and the pesticide mixtures. Notably, these impacts were observed at low nanomolar hop polyphenol concentrations, corresponding to levels realistically found after consumption of strongly hopped beer, suggesting a potential health concern.
