We have investigated the developdment of potential antioxidants based on magnolol, a naturally occurring biphenolic obtained from the bark of Magnolia officinalis. A series of aminomethylated derivatives of magnolol were synthesized under the aromatic Mannich reaction. In-vitro testing for diphenyl-p-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging and chemiluminescence assays in whole cell models revealed that the pyrrolidyl-containing magnolols (2b (5,5'-diallyl-3-(pyrrolidin-1-ylmethyl)-biphenyl-2,2'-diol), 3a (5,5'-diallyl-3,3'-bis-(pyrrolidin-1-ylmethyl)-biphenyl-2,2'-diol) and 4c (5,5'-diallyl-3-(morphorin-4-ylmethyl)-3'-(pyrrolidin-1-ylmethyl)-biphenyl-2,2'-diol)) displayed promising free radical scavenging effects as compared with magnolol. The results from compound 4c indicated that the naturally occurring component was suitable to be a lead compound toward promising antioxidants.