Hazard
Moderately toxic by ingestion.
Chemical Properties
White or off-white powder
Uses
Magnolol is the bioactive phytochemicals found in Magnolia officinalis (1). Magnolol has been used to treat anxiety, cough, headache and allergies (2). It also inhibits tumor necrosis factor-a-*induced ICAM-1 expression in human lung epithelial cells.
Definition
ChEBI: Magnolol is a member of biphenyls.
Biological Activity
Magnolol, a natural lignan isolated from the stem bark of Magnolia officinalis, is a dual agonist of both RXRα and PPARγ, with EC50 values of 10.4 μM and 17.7 μM, respectively.
Mechanism of action
Magnolol (5,5’-diallyl-2,2’-dihydroxybiphenyl) is a polyphenolic binaphthalene compound and a structural isomer of honokiol. Both magnolol and honokiol are isolated from the stem bark of a traditional Chinese herbal medicine Magnolia officinalis, which has been used for management of nervous disturbance, abdominal distention or disorders, gastrointestinal food stagnancy, and coughing and dyspnea. Magnolol has showed a wide spectrum of beneficial activities, including anti-inflammation, antimicroorganism, antioxidation, antiangiogenesis, anticancer, neuroprotection, cardiovascular protection, and lipolysis activities.
Safety Profile
Moderately toxic by ingestion.When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke andirritating vapors.
in vitro
Magnolol is a bioactive lignin found in the bark of the Houpu magnolia (Magnolia officinalis) which shows antifungal properties. Magnolol preferentially increases (3)H-muscimol binding to hippocampus compared to cortex and cerebellum in vitro. Magnolol has a more potent enhancing effect on GABAA receptor alpha2 subunit. Magnolol shows significant inhibitory activities against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporium gypseum, Epidermophyton floccosum, Aspergillus niger, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida albicans with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) in a range of 25-100 μg/ml.
in vivo
Magnolol (5-15 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly attenuates the phenotypic severity of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Magnolol (10, 15 mg/kg, p.o.) attenuates histopathological changes and myeloperoxidase activity in the colon of DSS-treated mice, decreases DSS-induced high levels of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the colonic tissues. Magnolol (10 mg/kg, p.o.) also reverses abnormality of serum metabolome, and regulates tryptophan metabolic pathway in mice.
