Magnolol is an organic compound that is classified as lignan.

[2] The compound exists at the level of a few percent in the bark of species of magnolia, the extracts of which have been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine.

It is known to act on the GABAA receptors in rat cells in vitro[3] as well as having antifungal properties.

[6] Structural analogues have been studied and found to be strong allosteric modulators of GABAA.

[7] Magnolol is also binding in dimeric mode to PPARγ, acting as an agonist of this nuclear receptor.