Cheers! A key ingredient found in beer, effective against a respiratory virus, may help ward off winter sniffles and cold, a new study suggests.

Japanese researchers at Sapporo Medical University found that humulone, a chemical compound in hops, was effective against the respiratory syncytial (RS) virus and was found to have an anti-inflammatory effect.

"The RS virus can cause serious pneumonia and breathing difficulties for infants and toddlers, but no vaccination is available at the moment to contain it," Jun Fuchimoto, a researcher from Sapporo Breweries said.

Particularly common during cold winter months, the RS virus can also cause symptoms similar to that of the common cold in adults, international online news web media reported.

Sapporo Breweries now hopes to create humulone-containing food and (non-alcoholic) beverages that both adults and children can consume.

It's not the first time that the health benefits of beer have been touted.

Previous research has suggested that drinking beer may help build better bones thanks to its high silicon content.

The mineral is important for the growth and development of bone and connective tissue and helping reduce the risk of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, the report said.

While experts agree that beer may be beneficial for some people when consumed in moderation, guzzling too much beer-or alcohol - can result in weight gain, dehydration and a plethora of other physical and social hazards.

Since only small quantities of humulone can be found in beer, researchers say you would have to drink adequate amounts of it to benefit from the anti-virus effect.

Another leading beer expert, Professor Ramon Etruch of the University Hospital in Barcelona, had previously said that only a single unit's worth of beer is required to obtain some of the beneficial health effects.

(Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)