The Antibacterial Activity of Humulus lupulus against Mycobacteria

................................................................................................................................ xxv Chapter One General Introduction, Aims and Objectives ........................................ 0 1.1 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 The history of medicinal plants ................................................................................. 2 1.3 Humulus lupulus .............................................................................................................. 4 1.3.1 Hop cultivation ......................................................................................................... 6 1.3.2 The hop ....................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.3 Chemical components of hops ............................................................................ 8 1.3.4 Hop harvesting and storage ............................................................................. 11 1.3.5 The brewing of beer ............................................................................................ 12 1.3.6 The medicinal qualities of hops ...................................................................... 14 1.4 Mycobacterium .............................................................................................................. 16 1.4.1 Mycobacterium tuberculosis ........................................................................... 17 1.4.2 Human infection ................................................................................................... 20 1.4.3 Evasion of host immune defences .................................................................. 20 1.4.4 Non tuberculosis mycobacterium .................................................................. 22 1.4.5 Mycobacterium smegmatis ............................................................................... 23 1.4.6 Mycobacterium abscessus ................................................................................ 23 1.4.7 Mycobacterial cell wall ....................................................................................... 26 1.4.8 HIV Co-Infection .................................................................................................... 28 1.4.9 Testing for tuberculosis ..................................................................................... 29