While many people have taken magnolia to reduce stress-related symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, and depression, the health benefits of magnolia go well beyond that. Importantly, magnolia can be used to help detoxify the body, soothe the digestive system, and to help prevent and treat cancer.

The hearty nature of magnolia shrubs and trees on which the beautiful magnolia flower grows has allowed them to offer a powerful organic nutrient with amazing health benefits. These virtues are recognized by modern medicine, Chinese Traditional medicine, and herbalists worldwide.  This bioactive natural product is known as honokiol.

Recent studies have demonstrated anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, apoptotic, anti-oxidative, and overall anti-cancer properties of honokiol in vitro and in preclinical models. Honokiol targets multiple signaling pathways including nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signal transducers and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and mammalian target of rapamycin (m-TOR), which have great relevance during cancer initiation and progression.

Honokiol also shuts down the leptin signaling network, which is significant for obese patients. Leptin-induced tumors quickly learn to evade all the usual biological checkpoints that keep tumors from growing and spreading.  Once the leptin helps the tumor achieve this state, the tumor is poised to migrate and morph from a non-invasive tumor to an invasive tumor. Research done at Johns Hopkins found that honokiol is able to suppress some of the proteins in the leptin network.

The link between obesity, leptin, and breast cancer is well known, yet this hasn’t changed how breast cancer patients are diagnosed or treated, nor do doctors check patients for leptin or leptin receptor levels. Some studies suggest that breast cancer cells that have been exposed to high levels of leptin over several years might also be less sensitive to the chemo drug tamoxifen, rendering it, well,  less effective (just one more reason why traditional remedies are not always the best solution).

Hopefully more doctors will discover this natural remedy soon, but in the meantime, you are empowered to take advantage of magnolia’s offerings. The immense chemo-preventive (anticancer) capabilities of magnolia cannot be overlooked.

Anticancer Benefits of Magnolia:

• stimulates the lymphatic system and increases the level of toxins being eliminated from the body
• inhibits angiogenesis (the development of new blood vessels tumors require to survive)
• powerful antioxidant
• promotes apoptosis (cancer cell death)
• down-regulates cancer-promoting genes
• inhibits the growth of Helicobacter pylori, known to significantly increase the risk for gastric cancers
• able to cross the blood-brain-barrier and inhibit brain tumor growth[i]
• increases sensitivity to radiation -induced cytotoxicity in lung and other cancers
• shuts down the leptin signaling network

While studies have found honokiol to be effective in gastrointestinal, breast, head and neck, prostate, ovarian, lung, skin, brain, and many other cancers, here are just a few specifics of this powerful magnolia:[ii]

• inhibits the growth in breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, SK-BR-3, MDA-MB-436, ZR-75-1and T47-D, MCF-7, 4T1) in a dose dependent manner regardless of their HR, HER2 or p53 status
• is effective against estrogen-receptor positive as well as estrogen-receptor negative breast cancers
• induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells irrespective of their androgen responsiveness or p53 status, and significantly decreases PSA counts
• exhibits growth-inhibitory effects against two human pancreatic cancer cell lines (MiaPaCa and Panc1)
• effective in leukemia cell lines viz. B-CLL and Molt 4B
• induces apoptosis in human multiple myeloma cell lines including dexamethasone-sensitive (MM.1S) and dexamethasone-resistant (MM.1R, RPMI-8226, U266 and SU-DHL-4) cells and in tumor cells
• significantly inhibits the invasion and colony formation of highly metastatic renal cell cancers cells 786-0 in a dose-dependent manner[iii]

How to Take Magnolia:

The bark, cones and leaves of the magnolia tree can be cooked and boiled down to a syrupy extract. Given that many of us do not have a field of magnolia in our back yards, a supplement may be best.

Small doses (30 mg) may be effective for anxiety and depression.  Slightly more might be helpful for those dealing with intense stress or insomnia. My oncologist used to call it “herbal Valium—all the relief without the wobbly knees”. He recommended it for sleep and stress relief as well as for cancer. The brand I take, NutriCology comes in capsule form, 200mg. The suggested dose is one daily, before bed. For smaller doses, you can buy it in powder form.  HonoPure is another excellent product that comes highly recommended.

The suggested dosage for cancer averages between 200 and 800 mg, up to three times a day (but limit to one dose before bed if drowsiness will be an issue and high doses only under the guidance of a medical doctor).

Magnolia should not be taken by pregnant women or at very high doses as it may cause headaches, dizziness, and vertigo. Keep magnolia away from infants and animals. Magnolia may cause a sedative effect and can interact with alcohol. Operating dangerous equipment or driving while taking magnolia extract is not recommended. For best results, take before bed.

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, cure, prevent, or diagnose any disease or condition. This post does not represent medical advice nor should it be considered to be medical advice or a replacement for medical advice.  I encourage you to discuss this information with your integrative oncologist, naturopathic doctor, or conventional oncologist and make your own decisions.  The information provided is from my research and not to be taken as scientific evidence. 

As an Amazon Affiliate, we may earn a small commission for the sale of products purchased from this site. These small commissions help to pay for the maintenance of this site as well as for the time spent researching and writing on topics relevant to your optimal health, but are achieved at no additional cost to  you.

Elyn

~~If you don’t know your options, you don’t have any~~

Elyn Jacobs is a breast cancer survivor and certified holistic cancer strategist who helps people make better, healthier, non-toxic choices. She emphasizes the critical nature of addressing the root cause of cancer and not just its presenting symptoms (such as the tumor). Elyn specializes in understanding the role of estrogen in breast cancer and debunks the myths associated. She is a Contributing Editor for The Truth About Cancer and was creator and host of the Survive and Live Well Radio Show on the Cancer Support Network. Elyn is on the Medical Advisory Board for BeatCancer.Org and is on the Advisory Board to the Radical Remission Project. Elyn was the former Executive Director of the Emerald Heart Cancer Foundation. Contact Elyn via her website. Elyn offers consults via Skype, phone or in person.

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REFERENCES:

https://www.realnatural.org/magnolia-bark-extract-treats-multiple-invasive-cancers/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080711214125.htm

https://www.spandidos-publications.com/ijo/46/6/2293

https://hub.jhu.edu/2016/07/06/magnolia-honokiol-breast-cancer-obesity/

[i] /www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3663139/

[ii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3663139/

[iii] https://www.spandidos-publications.com/ijo/46/6/2293