關于飲酒的好處，各國都有不少研究。近日，德國慕尼黑技術大學的研究人員發現啤酒花中含有一種具備抗癌功效的物質，這一發現有望使啤酒廠家利用其釀造特殊的“抗癌”啤酒。

Researchers in Germany say that a cancer-fighting substance found in hops could be enhanced to brew a special anti-cancer beer.

The discovery could lead to healthier beers and food supplements. The result could one day be that when you hold up a glass and say, "To your health," you would actually be toasting a triumph of the brewer's art over disease.

The preliminary studies indicate xanthohumol, found in hops, inhibits a family of enzymes that can trigger the cancer process, as well as help the body detoxify carcinogens, according to the science newswire Ivanhoe.

"It's very healthy. I think the ingredients in the beer are very good," says Dr Werner Back, a brewing technology expert at the Technical University of Munich.

Xanthohumol contains more powerful antioxidants than vitamin E and some studies indicate it helps reduce oxidation of bad cholesterol, the newswire reported.

"Xanthohumol has been shown to be a very active substance against cancer," says Dr Markus Herrmann, also of Munich.

"It comes in small sticky beads, which you find within the hops."

Hops have always been known to possess medicinal properties and are used in herbal medicines as a muscle relaxant.

Other compounds found in hops are potent phytoestrogens.

Scientists say these compounds could ultimately help prevent post-menopausal hot flashes and osteoporosis.

Now scientists have discovered hops contain xanthohumol, a powerful antioxidant.

"It comes in small, sticky beads, which you find within the hops," says Herrmann. Xanthohumol shuts down enzymes called cytochromes P-4; they can activate the cancer process.

It also helps the body detoxify carcinogens, stopping tumour growth at an early stage.

Preliminary studies at Oregon State University show that xanthohumol can kill breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancers, the newswire reported. But don't toast your health too soon.

The German researchers warn that it would take 60 regular beers to equal the amount of xanthohumol researchers are able to brew in this one beer.

Meanwhile researchers have found that for patients with several blockages in their coronary arteries, mortality rates are lower after bypass grafting than having new generation of drug-eluting stents inserted.

Doctors at State University of New York, Rensselaer, compared outcomes of nearly 10,000 patients with multiple coronary lesions who were treated with drug-eluting stents and almost 7500 similar patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. They found the chances of dying within 18 months were approximately 25 percent lower with the coronary bypass operation.

The results feature in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.

（Agencies/China Daily）

Vocabulary:

hop: 啤酒花

xanthohumol: 黃腐酚

carcinogen: 致癌物質

phytoestrogen：植物雌激素

post-menopausal： 婦女絕經后的

（英語點津 Celene 編輯）