ArticleNeuropharmacology2012
The natural products magnolol and honokiol are positive allosteric modulators of both synaptic and extra-synaptic GABA(A) receptors.
Article in Neuropharmacology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuroprotective Potency of Neolignans inFrontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Natural Products in Epilepsy Treatment: From Traditional Medicine Towards Computational Drug Discovery.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Magnolol and Honokiol Are Novel Antiparasitic Compounds fromACS omega · 2025Article
- Integrative sleep management: from molecular pathways to conventional and herbal treatments.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Review
- Article
- Exploring the therapeutic potential of natural compounds modulating the endocannabinoid system in various diseases and disorders: review.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2023Review
- Zebrafish as a robust preclinical platform for screening plant-derived drugs with anticonvulsant properties-a review.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2023Review
- Article
- Dissecting the molecular mechanisms underlying the antidepressant activities of herbal medicines through the comprehensive review of the recent literatures.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Review
- Ojeok-san ameliorates visceral and somatic nociception in a mouse model of colitis induced colorectal cancer.PloS one · 2022Article
- Rational approaches for the design of various GABA modulators and their clinical progression.Molecular diversity · 2021Review
- Antinociceptive Effect of Magnolol in a Neuropathic Pain Model of Mouse.Journal of pain research · 2021Article
- Pharmacology, Toxicity, Bioavailability, and Formulation of Magnolol: An Update.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Review
- Enhanced oral bioavailability of magnolol via mixed micelles and nanosuspensions based on SoluplusDrug delivery · 2020Article
- Effect of 158 herbal remedies on human TRPV1 and the two-pore domain potassium channels KCNK2, 3 and 9.Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2020Article
- Novel Benzodiazepine-Like Ligands with Various Anxiolytic, Antidepressant, or Pro-Cognitive Profiles.Molecular neuropsychiatry · 2019Article
- Loganin Exerts Sedative and Hypnotic Effects via Modulation of the Serotonergic System and GABAergic Neurons.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2019Article
- Magnolol restores the activity of meropenem against NDM-1-producingCell death discovery · 2018Article
- Structure-Dependent Activity of Natural GABA(A) Receptor Modulators.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) estimates that nearly 40% of adults in the United States use alternative medicines, often in the form of an herbal supplement. Extracts from the tree bark of magnolia species have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicines to treat a variety of neurological diseases, including anxiety, depression, and seizures. The active ingredients in the extracts have been identified as the bi-phenolic isomers magnolol and honokiol. These compounds were shown to enhance the activity of GABA(A) receptors, consistent with their biological effects. The GABA(A) receptors exhibit substantial subunit heterogeneity, which influences both their functional and pharmacological properties. We examined the activity of magnolol and honokiol at different populations of both neuronal and recombinant GABA(A) receptors to characterize their mechanism of action and to determine whether sensitivity to modulation was dependent upon the receptor's subunit composition. We found that magnolol and honokiol enhanced both phasic and tonic GABAergic neurotransmission in hippocampal dentate granule neurons. In addition, all recombinant receptors examined were sensitive to modulation, regardless of the identity of the α, β, or γ subunit subtype, although the compounds showed particularly high efficacy at δ-containing receptors. This direct positive modulation of both synaptic and extra-synaptic populations of GABA(A) receptors suggests that supplements containing magnolol and/or honokiol would be effective anxiolytics, sedatives, and anti-convulsants. However, significant side-effects and risk of drug interactions would also be expected.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.