ABOUT BETULIN
The compound that makes the birch shine bright white has been tentatively linked to treatment for such devastating human ailments as some melanomas or cancer, several forms of herpes and even for AIDS.
Betulin, a powdery substance in the outer bark of the birch tree, has been shown to help wounds heal faster and cut inflammation. Many cosmetic companies, touting it as a skin toner and restorer, add birch bark extract to various products. And a birch bark compound, betulinic acid, is being tested as a treatment for melanoma and other serious diseases.
Betulin contains betulinic acid, which has a wide spectrum of biological and pharmacological activities. Betulinic acid has anti-malarial and anti-inflammatory activities. Betulinic acid and its derivatives have especially shown anti-HIV activity and cytotoxicity against a variety of tumor cell lines comparable to some clinically used drugs. A new mechanism of action has been confirmed for some of the most promising anti-HIV derivatives, which makes them potentially useful additives to the current anti-HIV therapy. Betulinic acid is specifically cytotoxic to several tumor cell lines by inducing apoptosis in cells. Moreover, it is non-toxic up to 500 mg/kg body weight in mice. The literature concerning derivatization of betulin for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies and its pharmacological properties is reviewed.
"It is a scientific fact that chaga mushroom placed into a birch bark box acquires more expressed therapeutic properties. Basic acting substances of the white part of birch bark triterpenic bonds - betulin, lupeol, betulinic acid, etc. - they possess anti-cancerous action, causing apoptoz (programmed death) of cancerous cells and transfer to chaga, thus strengthening its properties..", says Galina Mikhaylovna Fedoseeva, the Chairman of the Department of Biopharmacognosy and Botany of Irkutsk State Medical University, professor, Doctor of the pharmaceutical sciences.In Russia it is a common knowledge that white part of birch bark possesses the anti-septic properties: birch bark applied to wounds heals them much faster, tar and activated carbon is made also from birch bark. Ancient Russian medicinal manuals recommended birch bark for treating purulent wounds, prolongedly unhealing ulcers.They also adviced: "so that the rotten meat from the ulcer was eaten away, ground birch crust should be poured into the rotten wound ".
Treatment of liver diseases is directed, mainly, to protecting cells of the liver from the damages caused by different chemical substances. Together with the radiation therapy and the surgery, in the therapy of the tumor pathology, the important component of treatment and rehabilitation of patients appears to be application of medicinal plants. The unique biological activity of the substances of those isolated by white part of birch bark contributes to the decrease of toxic action of chemo- and radiation therapy on the organism.
The antioxidant activity of betuline is connected with its direct effect on the ferments of the antioxidant protection, whose basic functional role consists of the decomposition of organic peroxides, first of all - peroxides of lipids, which play paramount role in the disturbance of the normal structure of biological membranes.Substances forming betulin possess the high liver cells protection and detoxifying activity, it normalizes bile secretion, reduces cholesterol level in the blood. Statistics testifies that in the regions, where white part of birch bark is traditionally used in household articles such as caskets, boxes and ducts for storing food products, people live longer and the index of oncologic diseases was recorded as very low.
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