Phytochemical Analysis and Appraisal of Antiproliferative Activity of Magnolia alejandrae

<b>Background:</b><i>Magnolia alejandrae</i> is a tree endemic to Tamaulipas, Mexico, distributed in the forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental. <b>Objective:</b> Our objective was to analyze the secondary metabolite profile of different parts of <i>M. alejandrae</i> and evaluate their antiproliferative activity in vitro. <b>Methods:</b> Different extracts of leaf, bark, and fruit were obtained using conventional and unconventional extraction methods with solvents of different polarity. The extracts were analyzed by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectra (UPLC-MS), and their antiproliferative activity against cancer cell lines was determined. <b>Results:</b> The primary yields of the extracts obtained from <i>M. alejandrae</i> ranged from 8.32% to 36.19%. Three hundred and twelve secondary metabolites previously reported from the Magnolia genus were detected. The most frequent were magnone A, pinoresinol, and yangambin. Honokiol and magnolol were not detected. Two of the extracts (FSW and BSW) had antiproliferative activity (IC₅₀ < 140 µg/mL) against HeLa, MCF-7, A549, U373, and PC3 cancer cell lines. The higher activity was against the A549 cell line. <b>Conclusions:</b><i>M. alejandre</i> extracts showed secondary metabolites previously reported and unreported in other species. Interestingly, some extracts had antiproliferative activity against cancer cell lines. Therefore, <i>M. alejandrae</i> is a source of molecules that could be explored to develop new drugs.