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A file photo of beer. (Kristyna Wentz-Graff/Staff)

A natural flavor found in hops and beer helped mice fight weight gain and high cholesterol, a new study found.

The study, authored by Oregon State University researchers, looked specifically at the compound xanthohumol and how dosages could affect health in mice, a news release said. The study was recently published in the journal Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

For the study 48 male mice were given a high-fat diet and different amounts of xanthohumol. The mice were randomly split into three groups of 16 -- one group wasn't given any xanthohumol and the other two groups received 30 or 60 milligrams per kilogram of body weight a day for 12 weeks.

Mice given the highest dosages of xanthohumol cut harmful cholesterol by 80 percent, insulin levels by 42 percent and a biomarker of inflammation by 78 percent, when compared to mice that weren't given the compound.

And, although all of the mice were gaining weight and eating the same amount of rich food, weight gain increased by 22 percent less in mice that were given the compound.

Specifically, the study found that the xanthohumol apparently had boosted oxygen intake and metabolic rates and also cut down plasma in a protein that affects cholesterol levels.

"This is the first time we've seen one compound with the potential to address so many health problems," Cristobal Miranda, a research assistant professor with Oregon State's Linus Pauling Institute and lead author on the study, said in a statement. "These were very dramatic improvements."

More research is needed to see if the same tactic could work for humans, but the compound appeared to tackle many traits of metabolic syndrome, according to a news release on the study. Those with metabolic syndrome have been diagnosed with at least three conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure and elevated lipids.

From 25 to 34 percent of United States adults meet criteria for the syndrome, and are therefore at a higher risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to the news release.

But, before you start guzzling beer in hopes that it will improve your health, researchers noted that the highest amount of xanthohumol used in the study is far beyond ordinary dietary levels. Sixty milligrams per kilogram of body weight a day would equate to 3,500 pints of beer daily for a human adult.

However, researchers noted that high amounts of xanthohumol could potentially be taken in the form of a daily dietary supplement.

Read more here.

--Laura Frazier

lfrazier@oregonian.com

503-294-4035

@frazier_laura