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Boswellia, Boswellia serrata, Frankincense

Proposed Uses: Asthma; Osteoarthritis; Rheumatoid Arthritis, Bursitis; Crohn's Disease; Tendonitis; Ulcerative Colitis

The gummy resin of the boswellia tree has a long history of use in Indian herbal medicine as a treatment for arthritis, bursitis, respiratory diseases, and diarrhea.

Growing evidence suggests that boswellia has anti-inflammatory effects. On this basis, the herb has been tried for a number of conditions in which inflammation is involved, including bursitis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and tendonitis.

Boswellia appears to decrease symptoms of malignant glioma (a type of incurable brain tumor), probably by decreasing inflammation in the brain. However, this has not been proven, and individuals with cancer should not use boswellia without a physician's advice.

Preliminary trials have found boswellia effective in relieving rheumatoid arthritis. A more recent study with rheumatoid arthritis found no benefit. However, about half of the patients dropped out, which seriously diminishes the significance of the results.

Asthma
A 6-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 80 people with relatively mild asthma found that treatment with boswellia at a dose of 300 mg 3 times daily reduced the frequency of asthma attacks and improved objective measurements of breathing capacity.

Osteoarthritis
In a double-blind study of 30 people with osteoarthritis of the knee, researchers compared boswellia against placebo. 13 Participants received either boswellia or placebo for 8 weeks, and were then switched over to the opposite treatment for an additional 8 weeks. The results showed significantly greater improvement in knee pain, knee mobility, and walking distance with boswellia compared to placebo.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease
An 8-week trial of 102 people with Crohn's disease compared standardized boswellia extract against the drug mesalazine.  Participants taking boswellia fared at least as well as those taking mesalazine.

Dosage
A typical dose of boswellia is 300 to 400 mg 3 times a day of an extract standardized to contain 37.5% boswellic acids.

Safety Issues
No serious side effects have been reported of pharmaceutical grade standardized boswellia extract. Crude herb preparations, however, may not be as safe as the specially manufactured extract. Safety in young children, pregnant or nursing women, or individuals with severe liver or kidney disease has not been established.

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