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What Is Boswellia Serrata? 

Popularly known as Indian frankincense, Boswellia is a herbal extract resin from the Boswellia serrata tree, found in the Indian subcontinent, North Africa and Middle Eastern regions. Boswellia is a resin popularly used by Ayurvedic and other Natural Health practitioners to treat disorders associated with chronic inflammation. 

How Does Boswellia Serrata Act in the Body?

The gum extracted from the Boswellia tree contains resin, essential oils, and polysaccharides. The gum resin extracts contain compounds such as monoterpenes, di-terpenes, tri-terpenes, tetracyclic tri-terpenes, and very important pentacyclic terpenic acids. Beta-boswellic acid, acetyl-beta-boswellic acid, 11-keto-beta-boswellic acid, and acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid constitute the pentacyclic terpenic acids. These compounds are important inhibitors of pro-inflammatory enzymes. Out of the four pentacyclic terpenic acids, acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid is the most potent inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase which is an important enzyme responsible for the production of inflammatory intermediates. [1]

Inflammatory intermediates such as leukotrienes produced by 5-lipoxygenase, when in excess go onto cause a variety of inflammatory disorders that affect the body for a long time.

Anti-oxidant, anti-pyretic, anti-atherosclerotic, and analgesic effects of Boswellia serrata extract have also been described. [2]

What Is Boswellia Serrata Used For? 

Ayurveda and other complementary health practices have been using the anti-inflammatory effects of Boswellia for centuries to treat chronic inflammatory disorders. Some of the popular indications of Boswellia usage are mentioned below:

          1.) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory conditions of the Joints

Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by an autoimmune disorder with an abnormal inflammatory response to the tissues of the joints. The disease causes severe malformations, a reduction in mobility, and requires long term treatment.

The current recommended treatment includes Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), Corticosteroids, and Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) – all of which cause undesirable side effects.

In a research published in the International Journal of Applied and Basic Medical Research in 2019, Dr. R. Kumar suggests that an active extract of Boswellia may help reduce inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.  [2]

Osteoarthritis can also be managed with Boswellia, especially when NSAIDs do not provide relief. [6]

          2.) Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and other GI Disorders

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases such as Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease are chronic inflammatory conditions caused due to an increased inflammatory response from the human body.

In a study published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, Dr. A. Sarkate and the team describes the effects of a prodrug form of the Boswellia extract. The prodrug form makes sure the Boswellia compounds reach the targeted site without being metabolized in the gastrointestinal tract.  The prodrug was 1.7 times more effective than Sulfasalazine which is the current drug of choice. [3]

Although Boswellia is used by complementary medicine, it still requires more research and experiments to uncover it’s full effectiveness. 

          3.) Asthma, Hay Fever

Many kinds of research have found ways of using Boswellia to treat hypersensitivity disorders such as Asthma and hay fever, which also show an exaggerated inflammatory response in the form of increased Leukotrienes. [4] [5]

How Much Boswellia Serrata is Recommended?  

For Rheumatoid Arthritis – 400-500mg of Boswellia capsules with 60% extract should be taken 3 times a day.

What are the Potential Side Effects Of Boswellia Serrata?

Boswellia Serrata may cause:

• Allergic hypersensitivity

          • Nausea

          • Diarrhea

          • Acid reflux

          • Skin rashes

          • Interactions – Boswellia can increase the anti-inflammatory response when taken with other anti-inflammatory drugs such as Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Indomethacin, Naproxen. Anti-coagulants and anti-platelet effects of other drugs can be affected by Boswellia. It is advised to always consult a medical practitioner before taking Boswellia.

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References:

1. Siddiqui M. Z. (2011). Boswellia serrata, a potential antiinflammatory agent: an overview. Indian journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 73(3), 255–261. https://doi.org/10.4103/0250-474X.93507

2. Kumar, R., Singh, S., Saksena, A. K., Pal, R., Jaiswal, R., & Kumar, R. (2019). Effect of Boswellia Serrata Extracts on Acute Inflammatory Parameters and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α in Complete Freund’s Adjuvant-Induced Animal Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis. International journal of applied & basic medical research, 9(2), 100–106. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijabmr.IJABMR_248_18

3. Sarkate, A., & Dhaneshwar, S. S. (2017). Investigation of mitigating the effect of colon-specific prodrugs of boswellic acid on 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis in Wistar rats: Design, kinetics, and biological evaluation. World journal of gastroenterology, 23(7), 1147–1162. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v23.i7.1147

4. Liu, Z., Liu, X., Sang, L., Liu, H., Xu, Q., & Liu, Z. (2015). Boswellic acid attenuates asthma phenotypes by downregulation of GATA3 via pSTAT6 inhibition in a murine model of asthma. International journal of clinical and experimental pathology, 8(1), 236–243.

5. Zhou, X., Cai, J. G., Zhu, W. W., Zhao, H. Y., Wang, K., & Zhang, X. F. (2015). Boswellic acid attenuates the asthma phenotype by downregulation of GATA3 via inhibition of PSTAT6. Genetics and molecular research: GMR, 14(3), 7463–7468. https://doi.org/10.4238/2015.July.3.22

6. Karimifar, M., Soltani, R., Hajhashemi, V. et al. Evaluation of the effect of Elaeagnus Angustifolia alone and combined with Boswellia thurifera compared with ibuprofen in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial. Clin Rheumatol 36, 1849–1853 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-017-3603-z