Boswellia serrata resin

Boswellia serrata resin is the gum resin that seeps from cuts in the bark of the boswellia tree. It has been burnt as incense since ancient times, and extracts of it are sold as food supplements for joints and inflammation.

Type

Plant resin

Botanical name

Boswellia serrata

Other names

salai guggul

The tree and the resin

Boswellia serrata is a medium-sized to large branching tree of the family Burseraceae that grows in dry mountainous regions of India, North Africa and the Middle East. The oleo-gum-resin is tapped from cuts in the trunk, left in bamboo baskets so that the oil drains and the resin hardens, and then graded by flavour, colour, shape and size.

The raw material contains 30 to 60% resin, 5 to 10% essential oil and, for the rest, polysaccharides (gums). The resin holds boswellic acids, of which acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid most strongly blocks 5-lipoxygenase, an enzyme involved in inflammation.

Traditional and current uses

In Ayurveda, India's traditional medicine, boswellia has been used for arthritis, inflammation and pain and for some breathing and heart complaints. Today extracts are sold as supplements for joints, mobility and digestion, and the resin of this or other Boswellia species is the source of frankincense, which is inhaled in aromatherapy or applied to the skin.

What the evidence shows

Most studies are small and of low quality, and there is not enough good evidence that boswellia helps any health condition.

By condition:

• Osteoarthritis: taken by mouth, it may reduce inflammation and pain, but larger and better studies are needed.
• Applied to the skin for arthritis: there is not enough evidence that it works.
• Asthma: a few small studies suggest fewer symptoms, without enough rigorous evidence.
• Cancer: some results are encouraging, but larger studies are needed; there is no evidence that it prevents or treats COVID-19.

Safety

Taken by mouth, boswellia is likely to be safe. Extracts up to 1,000 mg a day have been used safely in trials of up to six months. Doses of 2,400 mg a day have been used safely for up to a month. It may be safe on the skin and in aromatherapy. In pregnancy and while breastfeeding, amounts found in foods are likely safe, but little is known about medicinal amounts by mouth or about frankincense.

People who take medicines, for asthma for example, should talk to a doctor before starting a supplement: some supplements and medicines interact in harmful ways.

Products containing it

• Harpagin Forte capsules (D 240)