Cheers!: Hordein from Beer Can Activate the Reward Center in Our Brain

Are you familiar with the pleasant feeling when you hold a bottle or a mug of beer in your hands after a long workday? This drink relaxes, but not only because of the alcohol, but also due to another ingredient from beer malt, hordein, which activates the reward center in our brain in a similar way to dopamine.

A study by German scientists has shown that hordein from beer may be responsible for elevating mood by activating a key dopamine receptor.

They claim that hordein affects the brain in a similar way to the happiness hormone and that both hordein and dopamine stimulate the so-called dopamine receptor D2 in the brain.

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It is still necessary to find out whether the amount of hordein contained in beer can produce a significant effect on the reward center. So far, results suggest that hordein could greatly contribute to improving the mood of a person consuming beer.

The feeling of relaxation and good cheer is attributed to a combination of alcohol and hordein, believes scientist Monika Pischetsrieder, one of the authors of the research. She also reminds that a similar effect on the brain as hordein has salsolinol, an ingredient in chocolate.

“We were surprised that a substance in beer can activate the dopamine D2 receptor, especially since we did not specifically track nutritional stimulants,” added Professor Pischetsrieder.

Questionable Quantities

Scientists are now trying to determine how much hordein is in beer and how much reaches the brain. Namely, it is still unknown whether the level of hordein in beer is sufficient to trigger this effect. For now, it is only known that the substance itself has a certain role.

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Pischetsrieder says that an individual’s good mood is not influenced by just one ingredient in food or drink. It is mainly a combination of substances. For example, when it comes to snacks, like chips, the triggers for good mood are fats and carbohydrates.

However, scientists warn that alcohol also has the opposite, depressive effect and can disrupt thoughts, balance, and even mental health. Excess alcohol can be extremely harmful.

Thus, beer has a marginal impact on dopamine levels, but there are many negative sides to its consumption, which is why moderation should also be exercised in its drinking.