Eden Apothecary · Herb Profile
Magnolia officinalis
Also known as Hou Po
Pronounced mag-NOH-lee-uh of-fiss-ih-NAH-liss; Hou Po = 'hoh paw' (Chinese)
Warm, dry, bitter-pungent aromatic dispersant: the herb that breaks up cold-damp fullness, moves stagnant qi downward, and unbinds the phlegm-and-qi knot in the chest and throat.
Avoid. The AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook assigns Magnolia officinalis bark safety class 2b (not verified against AHPA) (not to be used during pregnancy). Classical Chinese sources likewise counsel caution or outright prohibition, on the basis of its strong qi-moving and downward-directing action. (AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook 2nd ed., 2013; Bensky et al., Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica.)
Insufficient data; avoid. There is no reliable human lactation data for the bark or its concentrated extracts, and the CNS-active neolignans honokiol and magnolol distribute widely. Use only under practitioner supervision if at all. (AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook 2nd ed., 2013.)
Not established for infants and young children as a stand-alone remedy. In traditional practice it appears only within practitioner-formulated decoctions at reduced pediatric doses. Avoid concentrated standardized honokiol/magnolol extracts in children. (Bensky et al., Materia Medica; general botanical-safety practice.)
Bitter, warm, drying, and strongly dispersing: it moves and consumes qi. Prolonged or high-dose use can deplete qi, so it is not for weak, deficient, or dry constitutions without balancing tonics. Discontinue 1-2 weeks before surgery (sedative and possible neuromuscular effects). Concentrated standardized extracts (honokiol and magnolol) are markedly more sedative and interaction-prone than whole-bark decoction.
Pregnancy (AHPA safety class 2b (not verified against AHPA)). Qi- and Yin-deficiency or frank dryness patterns lacking a damp or stagnant excess. Do not combine with strong sedatives, anticoagulants, or CYP450-sensitive drugs without practitioner supervision.
Magnolia officinalis is assessed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Traditional harvest strips the whole bark, which kills the tree, and wild populations were heavily depleted before large-scale cultivation. Buy only cultivated, plantation-grown Hou Po, now the dominant commercial source in China, and avoid wild-harvested bark. Related Asian magnolias face similar pressure.
Not named in the canonical biblical texts; native to the mountains of central and southern China and unknown to the ancient Mediterranean world. Hou Po is a classical Chinese materia medica, listed in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing (c. 200 CE) and used continuously in Chinese medicine since the Han dynasty.
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