Relora (Magnolia + Phellodendron)

Magnolia officinalis · Phellodendron amurense · Honokiol · Magnolia bark

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Transitory anxiety¹ Stress-related weight gain² Menopausal mood symptoms³ Menopausal sleep symptoms³	Aristolochic acid contamination⁴ History of sedative misuse⁵

Relora is a proprietary blend of Magnolia officinalis and Phellodendron amurense bark extracts; the magnolia neolignans magnolol and honokiol are its main constituents. Both are reported to act through gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) pathways and cannabinoid-like activity⁵. People take it for stress, specifically transitory anxiety and stress-related eating with weight gain, and for mood and sleep symptoms in menopause. The typical patient is an overweight premenopausal woman who eats more under stress².

Evidence comes from small pilot trials.¹ A randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Relora found less transitory anxiety than placebo but no change in long-standing anxiety, salivary cortisol, or sleep¹. A companion pilot found weight maintained in the treatment group while the placebo group gained. Menopausal benefit comes from a multi-ingredient product that included magnolia extract, so the effect cannot be attributed to magnolia alone. In 2021, a honokiol-enriched magnolia bark extract showed anxiolytic-like activity in animal behavioral tests and protected cultured neuronal cells, with no human trial of that extract⁶. Relora is marketed mainly as capsules; see Form comparison.

A safety review notes that an interaction with pharmaceutical agents cannot be excluded because magnolol and honokiol undergo glucuronidation⁷.

Last updated October 15, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

51 sources, 35 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources