Liu, Z., et al. (2015). Boswellic acid attenuates asthma phenotypes by downregulation of GATA3 via pSTAT6 inhibition in a murine model of asthma. Gupta I, et al.(2001). Effects of gum resin of Boswelliaserrata in patients with chronic colitis [Abstract]. DOI: One scientific study showed that individuals with jointissues experienced less discomfort after topically applying Boswellia for eight weeks. They could walk further and had greater flexibility in their knees after the study. 5

Yu G, Xiang W, Zhang T, Zeng L, Yang K, Li J. Effectiveness of Boswellia and Boswellia extract for osteoarthritis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2020;20(1):225. doi:10.1186/s12906-020-02985-6 Roe AL, Wilcox R, Price JM, et al. An evaluation of potential inhibition of CYP3A4/5 and CYP2C9 enzymatic activity by Boswellia serrata extract. Applied In Vitro Toxicology. 2019; 5(1) doi.org/10.1089/aivt.2018.0023https://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/treatments/natural/supplements-herbs/guide/indian-frankincense.php

Gupta I, Parihar A, Malhotra P, et al. Effects of gum resin of Boswellia serrata in patients with chronic colitis. Planta Med. 2001;67(5):391-395. doi:10.1055/s-2001-15802. Boswellic acid may also have a role in asthma treatment. Research findings have shown that boswellic acid suppresses inflammation in the airways and inhibits the secretion of cytokines, which are markers that lead to inflammation. The following sections discuss the evidence behind its potential benefits for inflammatory health conditions. Rheumatoid arthritis

Boswellia & Commiphora Cream

A recent study in the journal Oncotarget also found that the essential oil from boswellia impaired aggressive skin cancer cells without harming healthy skin cells. However, the researchers used cells and animal models. Ranjbarnejad T, et al. (2017). Methanolic extract of Boswellia serrata exhibits anti-cancer activities by targeting microsomalprostaglandin E synthase-1 in human colon cancer cells. DOI:

Eshaghian R, Mazaheri M, Ghanadian M, Rouholamin S, Feizi A, Babaeian M. The effect of frankincense (Boswellia serrata, oleoresin) and ginger (Zingiber officinale, rhizoma) on heavy menstrual bleeding: A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial. Complement Ther Med. 2019;42:42-47. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2018.09.022. The Arthritis Foundation recommend taking approximately 300–400 milligrams (mg) of boswellia three times per day to deliver boswellic acids to the body. They recommend looking for capsules that contain 60% boswellic acid, as it is the active ingredient.

What is Boswellia?

Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We avoid using tertiary references. We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. Ferrara T, De Vincentiis G, Di Pierro F. Functional study on Boswellia phytosome as complementary intervention in asthmatic patients. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015;19(19):3757–3762.

Gupta I, et al. (1998). Effects ofBoswellia serrata gum resin in patients with bronchial asthma: results of adouble-blind, placebo-controlled, 6-week clinical study. Suhail MM, et al. (2011). Boswellia sacra essential oil induces tumor cell-specific apoptosisand suppresses tumor aggressiveness in cultured human breast cancer cells. DOI:

Frankinsense and Myrrh

Siddiqui MZ. Boswellia serrata, a potential antiinflammatory agent: an overview. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2011;73(3):255-261. doi:10.4103/0250-474X.93507 Boswellia and its active ingredients, such as boswellic acid, appear to have a good anti-inflammatory effect on the body, according to a review article. In the future, this may make boswellia a helpful complementary treatment for asthma. For now, researchers need to focus on working toward studies in humans. Parkinson’s disease In this animal model, the anti-inflammatory effect of boswellia was less significant than that of a standard prescription medication called indomethacin. However, the researchers noted that the extract might be useful as a complementary therapy to support traditional RA treatment. Cancer and cancer therapy Grover AK, et al. (2016). Benefits of antioxidantsupplements for knee osteoarthritis: rationale and reality. DOI: