Written by Tatjana Djakovic, Staff Writer. Relora (a combination of the extracts barks of Phellodendron amurense and Magnolia officinalis) might offer some relief for premenopausal women experiencing temporary anxiety.
Some of the factors leading up to excess body weight in addition to overconsumption and lack of exercise include: stress, anxiety, and insomnia. Chronic stress and anxiety affect the body by disturbing the immune system which fights off infections, helps regulate hormone levels, and supports proper gastrointestinal function (1). Previous studies have indicated that increased levels of stress hormones and insomnia have been linked to eating high calorie foods and sweets, leading to obesity. One study found, that those who slept 6 hours per night were 73% more likely to be obese, those who slept 5 hour per night were 50% more likely to be obese, and sleeping only 2-4 hours resulted in a 73% greater chance of being obese (2).
Natural treatments for stress might provide relief from sedative like side-effects from traditional anti-anxiety medicine. Relora® is a supplement containing extracts of Magnolia officinalis bark and an extract from Phellodendron amurense bark that has been used in a recent study to relieve stress (3). The purpose of the placebo-controlled clinical trial was to determine the effects of Relora® on mild anxiety using questionnaires evaluating mental health, and sleep as well as measuring cortisol levels (a stress hormone that plays a role in weight gain).
The study consisted of 40 overweight adult females with anxiety between the ages of 20 and 50 that self-reported increased eating in response to stress. Participants were randomly split into two groups of 20 and then given either Relora® or a matched placebo. There were two types of assessments to measure general chronic anxiety as well as temporary, anxiety given to subjects at screening and after 6 weeks of treatment. The temporary feelings of anxiety were measured using the Speilberger STATE anxiety questionnaire which describes feelings of apprehension, tension, nervousness and worry. The longer-term feeling of anxiety was measured using the Speilberger TRAIT questionnaire which includes general, consistent, long-standing feelings of anxiety or depression.
Relora® significantly reduced anxiety compared to placebo as determined by the Speilberger STATE anxiety questionnaire. There were significant decreases (less anxiety) in the total STATE score over time for both treatment and placebo groups with the average decrease being almost twice as much for the Relora group (-14.3 ± 12.1 and -7.6 ± 9.8, respectively). The reduction in anxiety was significantly greater for the treatment group compared to the placebo group (p = 0.045). At the end of the study, the subjects were given a questionnaire to assess their perceived stress or anxiety. The Relora® group reported that they experienced a significant reduction in perceived anxiety/stress (p = 0.043) compared to placebo.
Relora® was not shown to be effective in reducing long standing feelings of anxiety when compared to placebo. However, the results did show that both Relora® and placebo significantly reduced general anxiety as measured by the TRAIT questionnaire over the 6-week study, but there was no statistical difference between the two groups. (4)
This study therefore indicates that Relora® might offer some relief for premenopausal women experiencing temporary anxiety.
Source: Kalman, Douglas S., et al. “Effect of a proprietary Magnolia and Phellodendron extract on stress levels in healthy women: a pilot, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.” Nutrition Journal 7.1 (2008): 11.
© 2008 Kalman et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Posted February 11, 2013.
References:
- Epel E, et al., Stress may add bite to appetite in women: a laboratory study of stress-induced cortisol and eating behavior. 2001. Psychoneuroendocrinology. (26):37-49.
- Taheri S, et al., Short sleep duration is associated wit reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased body mass index. 2004. PloS Med. 1:e62.
- Kuribara H., et al., Honokiol, a putative anxiolytic agent extracted from magnolia bark, has no diazepam-like side-effects in mice. 1999. J Pharm Pharmacol. (51): 97-103.
- Kalman, et al. “Effect of a proprietary Magnolia and Phellodendron extract on stress levels in healthy women: a pilot, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.” (2008) Nutr J 7.11.
