The Mighty Magnolia
An oriental medicinal plant derived from the bark of the magnolia tree shows promise as a treatment for prostate cancer. In traditional Asian medicine, extracts of magnolia have been used for pain relief and as a treatment for anxiety and depression, and the plant is marketed widely as an alternative medicine. Honokoi (HNK) is a bioactive natural product obtained from magnolia and research has shown that it has a range of potentially therapeutic effects on the body, including anti-tumor, promotion of neural growth, inhibition of platelet aggregation, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and others that have attracted interest in it as a drug candidate. Honokiol has shown activity against a number of solid tumor types including breast, prostate, gastric, and ovarian cancers. In order to demonstrate activity of honokiol against prostate cancer, investigators from the University of Pittsburgh and Kagoshima University in Japan exposed human and mouse prostate cancer cells to pharmacologic doses of HNK and observed the cells for evidence of autophagy (cellular self-degradation), cell viability, and reactive oxygen species that would indicate apoptosis (programmed cell death).
Why do people take magnolia?
People have traditionally used magnolia to try to treat:
Anxiety. In one study, a treatment containing magnolia extract was linked to less anxiety in menopausal women.
Digestive problems. In some studies, a treatment that contained magnolia lessened pain and constipation in people with a type of indigestion.
Allergies. Some studies suggest it has anti-allergy effects.
In addition, some research — in humans and animals — suggests magnolia may also be useful in these ways:
- As an antioxidant
- Lessen inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis
- Improve heart health. Magnolia may protect blood vessels from damage from LDL “bad” cholesterol and other causes.
- For liver protection
- Lower blood pressure
- Reduce the growth of bacteria
Some research has suggested some other possible benefits for magnolia: It might also help treat or prevent:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Asthma
- Cancer. Chemicals from magnolia have been useful against numerous types of cancer in lab tests. For example, studies found that they reduced tumor size and increased life span in mice with colorectal cancer. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874124013060
- Depression
- Diabetes. In lab tests using rats fed a high-fat diet, magnolol and honokiol reduced fat and protected against insulin resistance.
- Diarrhea
- Stroke. A chemical in magnolia reduced damage in the brain in mice after oxygen loss, such as occurs with stroke.
- Ulcers
More than 200 types of magnolia trees exist worldwide. One type — Magnolia officinalis — is commonly called the houpo magnolia, or sometimes simply “magnolia bark.” The houpo magnolia tree is native to China, where it has been used for thousands of years as a supplement in traditional Chinese medicine. The bark is particularly rich in two neolignans that are believed to be responsible for its medicinal properties — magnolol and honokiol (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source). Neolignans are a type of polyphenol micronutrient in plants. Polyphenols are highly valued for their antioxidant levels and believed to offer many health benefits. Some of the conditions that magnolia bark has traditionally been used to treat include asthma, anxiety, depression, stomach disorders, and inflammation (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
