Towards improved valorisation of (Betula pendula): preliminary study of the genotoxic, antigenotoxic and cytotoxic potential of a commercial aqueous silver birch leaf extract

Birch is a tree, of the genus Betula belonging to the Betulaceae family and it is known for its various pharmaceutical properties. At the same time it is a suitable tree species for renewable forests. In the present preliminary study an aqueous commercially available leaf extract of silver birch (Betula pendula) was studied to evaluate its potential genotoxic and cytotoxic activity as well as its antigenotoxic properties against the mutagenic agent mitomycin-C by employing the in vitro Cytokinesis Block Micro Nucleus (CBMN) assay. Human lymphocytes were treated with Betula pendula with and without mitomycin-C. Betula pendula did not increase the frequency of micronuclei, and showed cytotoxic potential. All mixtures of Betula pendula and mitomycin-C demonstrated a decrease in the micronuclei frequencies, with the lowest and highest concentrations inducing a significant antigenotoxic activity. Therefore, the birch product studied showed antigenotoxic and cytotoxic potential which could render it useful in various medicinal applications.