Biologically active constituents of Magnolia salicifolia: inhibitors of induced histamine release from rat mast cells

The extracts of the flower buds of Magnolia salicifolia showed remarkable anti-allergy effects in passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) test. The bioactive constituents of this medicinal drug were isolated by monitoring their activities with an in vitro bioassay system measuring inhibitory effects on induced histamine release from rat mast cells. Of the ten isolated compounds magnosalicin is a new compound of neolignan structure. In addition to the isolated compounds samples of coumarins and lignans were evaluated their biological activities with the in vitro bioassay.