Previous studies of the species of trees known as Populus suggest the tree’s extracts may possess anti-inflammatory properties.  Xavier Vitrac, from Universite Victor Segalen Bordeaux (France), and colleagues tested an extract from poplar tree (Populus nigra) leaf buds. The team found that poplar bud extract had moderate antioxidant activity, resulting from a high total phenolic content, with the main phenolic compounds identified as phenolic acids and flavonoid aglycons. Finding that “poplar bud extract significantly regulated genes involved in antioxidant defenses, inflammatory response and cell renewal,” the researchers submit that: “The collective antioxidant properties and transcriptional effect of this extract suggest potential antiaging properties.”