The Benefits Of Magnolia Officinalis
The magnolia officinalis is one of 210 plants that make up the genus Magnolia. Naturally, they are a scattered through North America, South America, Asia and the West Indies. These are quite ancient plants with fossilized specimens that date back to over 20 million years ago and some fossils that have been found that belong to the family of Magnoliaceae date back to be 95 million years old.
Since the magnolia officinalis evolved long before the existence of bees, they developed exceptionally tough flowers that were strong enough to fight damage from the pollinating beetles. Their flowers are brilliantly thick. They are not made up of distinct petals like most flowers.
This exotic plant has gorgeous, large leaves that have a deep notch found at the apex which gives the leave a unique bi-lobed shape. The tree grows quite quickly and blooms at an extremely young age between five and seven years old. It is a straight-trunked tree that reaches nearly 50 feet however, the largest specimens are usually only found in botanical gardens because of the over-harvesting of the tree for its bark.
Benefits
The bark from the magnolia officinalis has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine as far back as 100 A.D. It is used to nurture and support the body to treat a wide assortment of ailments. Magnolia bark is used to relieve menstrual cramps, abdominal bloating and gas, abdominal pain, indigestion and nausea. It is also an effective ingredient that is used to treat asthma and coughing. Used internally, it can treat abdominal distension, gastroenteritis, loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, coughs with acute phlegm and asthma attacks.
It has been determined by Japanese researchers that the bark from magnolia officinalis contains magnolol and honokiol, which are two chemicals that are 1000 times stronger in antioxidant activity than vitamin E. These two compounds offer cortisol-balancing and anti-stress effects.
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Weight Loss – The bark from the magnolia officinalis contains a stress hormone-lowering supplement to help decrease weight, especially in the abdominal area, memory problems, sugar control problems and many other stress induced disorders.
- Anxiety – The honokiol has been compared with the ingredients in Valium. Honokiol is five times stronger at reducing anxiety with no side effects. Honokiol is less addictive and reduces anxiety without virtually any disruption of motor activity.
- Asthma – Magnolia officinalis contains properties that support the natural production in the body to create adrenal steroids that suppress inflammation. The anti-inflammatory effect that is created is believed to be responsible for stopping the inflammatory allergic response that causes asthma.
- Alzheimer's Disease – Magnolia officinalis has many extraordinary effects on the acetylcholine levels that are in your brain which is quite a potential benefit for Alzheimer's disease sufferers. This disease is characterized by having insufficient acetylcholine levels that are accompanied with amyloid plaque build up in the brain that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain. It is proven that magnolol and honokiol are also capable of exhibiting neurotrophic vitro effects that results in cell growth in the brain while it reduces the death of brain cells.
Cautions
Magnolia officinalis is generally regarded as relatively safe as long as it is taken within the recommended dosage. Pregnant women or those that are nursing should never use magnolia officinalis. It should also be avoided by individuals that are dehydrated. It has not been proven if it is safe to be used by young children or for those that have severe kidney or liver disease.
It is believed that large doses that are far beyond the recommended dosage may result in vertigo. The bark contains tubocurarine as well as related substances that can cause respiratory paralysis and can be toxic to small children, even if it is used as directed.