Comparative Study on Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activities of Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) Strobile Extracts

In this study, we investigated the phenolic compounds in hop strobile extracts and evaluated their antioxidant property using DPPH and ABTS assay. The total phenolic compound (TPC) and total flavonoid compound (TFC) estimated in two different solvent extracts considerably varied depending on the extraction solvent. The most abundant phenolic compound in hop strobile was humulones (α-acid) with levels ranging from 50.44 to 193.25 µg/g. El Dorado accession revealed higher antioxidant activity in ethanol extracts (DPPH: IC₅₀ 124.3 µg/mL; ABTS: IC₅₀ 95.4 µg/mL) when compared with that of the other accessions. Correlations between DPPH (IC₅₀) scavenging TFC in ethanol extract (TFC_E, -0.941), and TPC_E (-0.901), and between ABTS (IC₅₀) scavenging TFC_E (-0.853), and TPC_E (-0.826), were statistically significant at p < 0.01 level, whereas no significant correlation was observed between antioxidant activities, TPC and TFC in water extract. This study is the first to report that variations in the level of phenolic contents and antioxidant activity of various hop cultivars depended on the type of extraction solvent used and the cultivation regions. These results could provide valuable information on developing hop products.