4-O-Methyl honokiol (4-O-Methylhonokiol) is a lignan-like compound obtained from Magnolia officinalis and Magnolia officinalis. It is a PPARγ agonist with antiangiogenic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties, and it can inhibit the activity of NF-κB, which can be used in cancer research.

4-O-Methyl honokiol (20 μM) 可增加前列腺 PC-3 和 LNCap 细胞中 PPARγ 的表达、转录、DNA 结合活性和核易位。[1]
4-O-Methyl honokiol (0-30 μM) 可抑制 LNCaP 和 PC-3 癌细胞生长，导致 G0/G1 期停滞，并诱导细胞凋亡，而这种影响可以通过 PPARγ 拮抗剂逆转。4-O-Methyl honokiol可抑制 NF-κB 活性和癌细胞生长，但这种影响及其对 PPARγ 的激活可以通过敲低 p21 来消除。[1]
4-O-Methyl honokiol (0.5、1 和 2 μM) 可减少培养的星形胶质细胞中 LPS 诱导的 NO、PGE2、ROS、TNF-α 和 IL-1β 的释放，以及培养的星形胶质细胞和小胶质细胞BV-2。[2]

4-O-Methyl honokiol（40 或 80 mg/kg；腹腔注射；每天注射，持续 4 周）可抑制 SW620 和 PC3 异种移植模型中 SW620 和 PC3 肿瘤的生长。4-O-Methyl honokiol可显著增加肿瘤组织中 p21 和 PPARγ 的表达。[1]
4-O-Methyl honokiol（0.5 或 1 mg/kg；持续 3 周）可显著改善小鼠 LPS 诱导的记忆障碍，并抑制小鼠 LPS 诱导的 iNOS 和 COX-2 表达。4-O-Methyl honokiol还显示出对 Aβ1-42 积聚的抑制作用，并激活注射 LPS 的小鼠脑中的星形胶质细胞和小胶质细胞。[2]

Cells (5 × 10^4 cells per well) are plated onto 24-well plates. The cell growth inhibitory effect of 4-O-Methyl honokiol is evaluated in cells treated with 4-O-Methyl honokiol (0-30 μM) for 0-72 h, using an excluded trypan blue assay [1].

Six-week-old male BALB/c athymic nude mice are used in the assay. SW620 and PC3 cells are injected s.c. (1 × 10^7 cells in 0.1 mL PBS per animal) into the lower right flanks of mice. After 20 days, when the tumors have reached an average volume of 300-400 mm3 or about 50 mm3, the tumor-bearing nude mice are i.p. injected with 4-O-Methyl honokiol (40 and 80 mg/kg dissolved in 0.1% DMSO) twice per week for 3 weeks. Cisplatin (10 mg/kg) is also i.p. injected once a week as a positive control. The group treated with 0.1% DMSO is designated as the control. The tumor volumes are measured with vernier calipers and calculated by the following formula: (A × B^2)/2, where A is the larger and B is the smaller of the two dimensions [1].