There is a clear association between poor quality of sleep and a decreased quality of life in older adults with a high prevalence in menopausal women. Unfortunately, there are few viable treatment options for the sleep disturbances associated with menopause that do not have unwanted """"""""hang-over"""""""" and other side effects. Humulus lupulus (hops) alone and in combination with Valerian officinalis L. (Valerianaceae; valerian) has been used as a sedative or sleeping aid, and clinical trails have shown efficacy. While the exact science of sleep induction and modulation is not completely understood, recent experiments implicate a new class of signaling lipids, the fatty-acid amides (FAAs). Anandamide and oleamide are two FAAs that have been shown to induce physiological sleep in mammals. An in-depth mechanistic study of hops would potentially provide valuable information on natural alternatives to alleviate sleep disturbances. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that active constituent(s) of hops modulate the anandamide pathway.
The specific aims are (1) the evaluation of the in vitro activity of hops on the anandamide transporter, (2) the evaluation of in vitro activity of hops on fatty-acid amide hydrolase, and (3) the assessment of a standardized hops extract in vivo using male Institute of Cancer Research mice for fatty-acid amide associated activity. ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
Type
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31)
Project #
5F31AT002423-02
Application #
6951017
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAT1-CP (14))
Program Officer
Hopp, Craig
Project Start
2004-08-01
Project End
2007-07-31
Budget Start
2005-08-01
Budget End
2006-07-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$29,859
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department
Pharmacology
Type
Schools of Pharmacy
DUNS #
098987217
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60612
Overk, Cassia R; Guo, Jian; Chadwick, Lucas R et al. (2008) In vivo estrogenic comparisons of Trifolium pratense (red clover) Humulus lupulus (hops), and the pure compounds isoxanthohumol and 8-prenylnaringenin. Chem Biol Interact 176:30-9
Overk, Cassia R; Yao, Ping; Chen, Shaonong et al. (2008) High-content screening and mechanism-based evaluation of estrogenic botanical extracts. Comb Chem High Throughput Screen 11:283-93