| Some Products using Frankincense/Boswellia | ||
| Product | Health Issue | Other Herbal Ingredients |
| Natures Way Boswellia Extract | arthritis | none |
| JointEase Plus | arthritis | devils claw |
| Nature's Way Joints Glucosamine | arthritis | nettle, alfalfa, wild yam, grape seed extract |
| Physicians Formulas Boswellia | arthritis | none |
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| Learn which herbs are commonly used to treat |
Traditional Uses
Pliny mentions frankincense as an antidote to hemlock. Avicenna (tenth century) recommends it for tumours, ulcers, vomiting, dysentery and fevers. In China it was used for leprosy.
Research
Recent research is showing that boswellia is effective for relieving inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, validating the findings of medical texts more than 1,500 years old which praise the anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic uses of the gummy extract
In the United States, Dr. E. W. McDonagh, a Kansas City physician, has reported success among some 350 patients suffering from a variety of advanced muscular and skeletal conditions for which other treatments had failed to help. "Many were taking multiple prescription and non-prescription medication and had developed side effects from them," McDonagh says. "Once taking boswellia as prescribed, pain significantly reduced. All patients were able to eliminate other medication or reduce the dosages significantly."
In a series of recent studies conducted at Indian government laboratories, the extract from Boswellia serrata was found to be both safe and effective. The Boswellia serrata tree already is a celebrity of sorts. Its oil, called "Indian frankincense," has long been an important ingredient in Oriental perfumes.
Current uses
Boswellia (frankincense) effectively shrinks inflamed tissue, the underlying cause of pain, by improving the blood supply to the affected area and enhancing the repair of local blood vessels damaged by proliferating inflammation. This ability is attributed to chemical compounds in the gummy extract, scientifically known as boswelic acids.
News Comment
A healthy alternative
... claimed to repair damaged cartilage), fish-oil supplements, herbal anti-inflammatories, emu oil, creams made from green-lipped muscles and frankincense . ...
The Herald, UK - Apr, 2006
Precautions and side effects (refer also to statements below)
Experimental and clinical usage of boswellia indicates it has none of the side effects on blood pressure, heart rate of the gastric irritation and ulcers associated with many anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic drugs.
It is now an approved herbal medicine in India for use against osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, soft tissue rheumatism, low back pain, myositis and fibrositis.