*Anxiety : Magnolia bark shows promise for anxiety relief, according to a 1999 study published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. In tests on mice, scientists determined that honokiol extracted from magnolia bark may help reduce anxiety without triggering the side effects associated with diazepam (a drug commonly used in the treatment of anxiety disorders).
*Depression : Preliminary research suggests that magnolia bark may aid in treatment of depression. In a 2009 study published in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, for instance, tests on mice found that a combination of magnolia bark extract and essential oil of ginger produced anti-depressant effects by moderating abnormalities in certain brain chemicals.
*Cancer Prevention: The bark of magnolia trees can be peeled from the tree, boiled, rolled, steamed, and allowed to dry into an herbal supplement or tincture. This bark-derived herb has been linked to preventing certain types of cancer, particularly prostate cancer. One of the active compounds in magnolia, magnolol, is able to prevent the spread or increase of prostate cancer cells. Although research is in its early stages, many experts believe that magnolia bark extracts can also exert beneficial effects in terms of preventing/treating leukemia and colon cancer. The compound honokiol has been shown in several studies to shrink tumors or prevent them from growing to begin with. One of the studies, conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, proved that honokiol is effective in treating head and neck cancers. Honokiol has the ability to block a protein that is associated with the growth of head and neck tumors. The protein, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), has been found to be present in overabundance in almost all cases of head and neck cancer.
*Obesity.
*Digestion problems.