Frankincense

General information

Preparations from the gum resin of Boswellia serrata have been used as traditional remedies in Ayurvedic medicine in India for inflammatory diseases [ ]. The gum contains substances that have anti-inflammatory properties; they are pentacyclic triterpenes related to boswellic acid, which inhibit leukotriene biosynthesis in neutrophilic granulocytes by inhibiting 5-lipoxygenase. Certain boswellic acids also inhibit elastase in leukocytes, inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis, and inhibit topoisomerases in cancer cell lines.