Who does not think of the Magi when they think of incense? Frankincense was – along with myrrh and gold – one of the gifts of the Magi from the Orient. At that time, a kilogram of frankincense cost the equivalent of about 500 euros. Frankincense was thus considered a precious gift – and a therapeutic agent – even in earlier times.
What is frankincense?
Frankincense is the natural resin (olibanum) of the incense bush. A distinction is made between the Indian frankincense Boswellia serrata and the Arabian Boswellia sacra. To obtain the resin, the bark of the trees is scratched, the emerging sap solidifies in the air and forms red-yellowish or brownish grains. At normal temperature, these grains are almost odorless, but when burned, a strong aromatic fragrance is produced.
Frankincense cannot be harvested in arbitrary quantities. The plant thrives only in the most extraordinary regions of our planet, where hostile desert and rain-bearing mountains meet – so its growing conditions are extremely demanding!
History of frankincense
As early as 7000 years ago, incense was sacrificed to the oriental gods. The Egyptians also used incense for embalming, as an incense and especially for disinfectant purposes. And in the Indian folk medicine Ayurveda, the extracts of the frankincense resin Olibanum have been used for thousands of years against chronic arthritis and chronic bronchitis. In Ayurvedic medicine, probably no plant has been studied as closely as frankincense. How olibanum works has not yet been definitively proven scientifically, but that it does work is confirmed.
Ingredients and effect of frankincense
The resin of frankincense, in addition to known ingredients such as essential oils or tannins, also contains 5 – 8% of boswellic acids – the effective components of frankincense. Researchers have found that these substances can stop inflammatory reactions. Inflammation is also caused in the body by a certain enzyme (5-lipoxygenase).
This enzyme causes the formation of substances called leukotrienes. Leukotrienes are substances produced by the body during inflammation and are responsible for maintaining chronic inflammation. Clinical studies indicate that boswellic acids extracted from the resin of the frankincense tree have a strong anti-inflammatory effect in chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatism and polyarthritis. This evidence of inhibition of inflammatory mechanisms has been demonstrated – also in clinical studies – in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease).
Treatment with frankincense?
Centuries of experience with olibanum as a phytotherapeutic agent, as well as the results of modern frankincense research, point to several potential uses in chronic inflammation. Polyarthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, asthma, even edema of brain tumors seem to be treatable in this way. Boswellic acids of Indian frankincense thus show promising perspectives, which, however, need to be substantiated by further meaningful clinical studies.
