Antitumoral activity of betulin, a compound present in birch tree, in formulations with cyclodextrin

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Article Title:	Antitumoral activity of betulin, a compound present in birch tree, in formulations with cyclodextrin
Authors:	Cristina A. DEHELEAN1, Codruta M. SOICA1, Claudia-Crina TOMA2, Stefana FEFLEA1, Alexandra T. GRUIA3, P. Kasa Jr.4
Affiliation:	1 University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes” Timisoara, Romania 2 “Vasile Goldis” Western University of Arad, Romania 3 County Hospital Timisoara, Romania 4 Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Szeged, Hungary
Abstract:	Betulin is a triterpene with an important therapeutic activity even on tumour treatment. It is very low soluble in water and biological environment. The increasing of its solubility by cyclodextrin complexation could lead to an improvement in the biological activity. Materials and methods used betulin and 6-O-maltosyl-beta-cyclodextrin and a simple kneading procedure. The compound and final product were evaluated by SEM pictures, in vitro tests on A431 cell line and on an embryonated egg model. Results and discussions indicated the important activity of betulin as antitumor agent and an antiangiogenic activity. The mixture with the ramified cyclodextrin seems to be a complex formation because of the shape of compounds changes. The complexes had a better biological activity. The main conclusion is that betulin is an important antitumor compound and increasing of its solubility could improve the biological activity.
Keywords:	betulin, cyclodextrins, antitumor, angiogenesis
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*Correspondence:	Claudia Toma, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dental Medicine, „Vasile Goldis” Western University Arad, Romania, E-mail: claudiatoma2004@yahoo.com