Magnolia flowers have the potential to treat cancer.

The potential for treating head and neck cancer is attributed to a compound called honokiol, which is abundant in the leaves and bark of the magnolia tree.

A study by American scientists at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of Alabama has just been published in the journal Oncotarget.

The research team explained that there is a type of protein called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) that is overexpressed in squamous cells in 90% of head and neck cancer cases, so targeting this protein could be a promising therapy.

When tested on human cancer cells and mouse bodies, scientists found that honokiol binds to and restricts the expression of EGFR, while also preventing cancer cell growth.

Several previous studies have shown honokiol's potential to prevent cancer and inhibit tumor growth in breast, skin, prostate, and lung cell cancers.

The compound honokiol in magnolia trees may be effective against head and neck cancer. (Image: MNT)

Head and neck cancers—including cancers of the larynx, throat, mouth, lips, nose, and salivary glands—account for about 3% of all cancer cases in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.

In traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine, components of the magnolia tree have been used as a sedative.

According to Alobacsi.vn