Xanthohumol properties and strategies for extraction from hops and brewery residues: A review

Xanthohumol, a chalcone unique to hops, has attracted attention from researchers due to its several pharma-cological effects on humans. In industry, hops are almost exclusively used in beer production, generating tons of solid waste - hot trub from the boiling step and spent hops from the dry hopping - rich in biocompounds, among them xanthohumol, that could be recovered and used for several nutritional purposes. The literature is extensive on extraction processes of xanthohumol directly from hops, but only a few studies present its recovery from brewery solid waste. We focus on presenting the xanthohumol characteristics and benefits for human con-sumption, and discuss the main extraction techniques, their advantages and limitations, to prospect strategies to recover this high-value compound from brewing solid waste. Recent extraction processes represent promising approaches to overcome the limitations of conventional methods, but further studies are still needed to under-stand xanthohumol extraction and purification and induce industrial upscaling.

Automated summary

Xanthohumol, a unique compound found in hops, has gained attention from researchers for its various pharmacological effects on humans. Brewery solid waste, which includes xanthohumol, can be recovered and utilized for nutritional purposes. Although there is extensive literature on extracting xanthohumol directly from hops, there are limited studies on its recovery from brewery solid waste. This article focuses on the characteristics and benefits of xanthohumol for human consumption, discusses extraction techniques, and prospects strategies for recovering this valuable compound from brewing solid waste.