Beer May Actually Lift Your Spirits

Oktoberfest goers have always known it and now, it’s scientifically proven – beer can lift your spirits. Scientists at Freidrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg examined about 13,00 food components to find out whether they stimulate the reward center in the brain and make people feel good. What they found was hordenine, which is found in malted barley.

Some foods make us happy. Well maybe not happy, but they do make us feel good. This is why sometimes, it’s hard to stop eating when we have had enough. This is what scientists call hedonic hunger, the drive to eat for pleasure rather than to satisfy an actual biological need. The feel-good effect we all have experienced is caused by a neurotransmitter, dopamine. Tempting foods will stimulate the reward center in the brain where the dopamine D2 receptor is located. Researchers investigated whether or not there are special substances in food that activate the dopamine D2 receptor in the same way dopamine does.

The scientists originally set up a database of 13,000 molecules that are present in food. Using the database, the objective was to find the molecule that fit the dopamine D2 receptor, like finding the right key for the lock. The system was then used to identify which molecules could interact with the receptor. In the end, only 17 of the original 13,000 options were selected and analyzed in the laboratory.

The most promising result? Hordenine, a substance that is present in malted barley and beer. Researchers said that it actually came as a surprise that a substance in beer actives the receptor. Just like dopamine, hordenine stimulates the dopamine D2 receptor. Although, it uses a different pathway. Unlike dopamine, hordenine activates the receptor solely through G proteins, which potentially leads to a more prolonged effect on the reward center of the brain.

All things considered, the results definitely indicated that hordenine may contribute to the mood-boosted effect of beer. 

Happy drinking!

Sommer, T., Hübner, H., El Kerdawy, A., Gmeiner, P., Pischetsrieder, M., & Clark, T. (2017). Identification of the Beer Component Hordenine as Food-Derived Dopamine D2 Receptor Agonist by Virtual Screening a 3D Compound Database. Scientific Reports, 7.