Differential effect of betulin and betulinic acid on cytokine production in human whole blood cell cultures.

Betulin and betulinic acid, plant-derived triterpenoid compounds, have been described to possess anti-inflammatory activity. In this paper, we examine the ability of both compounds to induce and modulate cytokine production in human whole blood cell cultures. The results indicate that betulin is a modest TNF-alpha inducer and also an enhancer of mitogen-induced TNF-alpha production. In contrast to betulin, betulinic acid is a modulator of cytokine production by Th1/Th2 cell subpopulations which slightly enhances IL-10 formation and inhibits IFN-gamma production, reducing IFN-gamma/IL-10 ratio from 3.6 to 2.6.