Protective effects of Betula platyphylla var. japonica extracts against the cellular damage induced by reactive oxygen species

In our present study, total methanol extracts prepared from B. platyphylla var. japonica showed a significant increase in cell proliferation upon the induction of oxidative stress by hydrogen peroxide or $\gamma$-ray irradiation. Total methanol extracts were fractionated into five separate preparations i.e. n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethylacetate, n-butanol and water fractions. Among these, the ethylacetate and butanol fractions of B. platyphylla var. japonica showed the highest protective effects against oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide. These fractions also showed strong protective effects against $\gamma$-ray irradiation. When we evaluated the cytotoxicity of these fractions, the butanol fraction showed no effects in a colony formation assay. In addition, the butanol fraction showed a cell proliferation activation effect evidenced by significant increase in the colony formation of $\gamma$-ray irradiated cells. Both a radical scavenging activity and clonogenic activity assay suggested that the mechanism behind this protective effect against reactive oxygen species may be due to the radical scavenging and cell proliferation activity of B. platyphylla var. japonica extracts.