Inhibitory Principles from Magnolia officinalis on Tumor Necrosis $Factor-{\alpha}$ Production in Lipopolysaccharide-Activated RAW264.7 cells

In the course of a search for tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$ inhibitory compounds from medicinal plants, we identified neolignans, honokiol and magnolol, from the alcoholic extract of Magnolia offcinalis as active inhibitory principles. These compounds dose-dependently inhibited $TNF-{\alpha}$ production without displaying cytotoxicity and their inhibitory activities measured by $IC_{50}$ values were 53.7 and $61.4\;{\mu}M$, respectively.