Beer ingredient may help prostate cancer prevention

New animal experiments at German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg suggest that an ingredient of beer may someday help ward off prostate cancer.

The compound revealed by German researchers, xanthohumol - a flavonoid found in many plants, fruits, vegetables and spices, is found in hops — the bitter flavoring agent in beer — and is known to block the male hormone testosterone, which plays a role in the development of prostate cancer. Based on this recent conclusions, researchers hope that one day they can show that xanthohumol prevents prostate cancer development.

The findings were to be presented Dec. 9 at a conference of the American Association for Cancer Research in Houston.