Frankincense (乳香 Rǔ Xiāng; Boswellia Species): From the Selection of Traditional Applications to the Novel Phytotherapy for the Prevention and Treatment of Serious Diseases

Frankincense (乳香 Rǔ Xiāng; Boswellia Species), the resinous extract from the trees of the genus Boswellia, has been used for centuries in cultural ceremonies, as a cosmetic agent, and as a traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments, especially inflammatory diseases including asthma, arthrit...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rafie Hamidpour, Soheila Hamidpour, Mohsen Hamidpour, Mina Shahlari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2013-10-01
Series:Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2225411016301961
Description
Summary:Frankincense (乳香 Rǔ Xiāng; Boswellia Species), the resinous extract from the trees of the genus Boswellia, has been used for centuries in cultural ceremonies, as a cosmetic agent, and as a traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments, especially inflammatory diseases including asthma, arthritis, cerebral edema, chronic pain syndrome, chronic bowel diseases, cancer, and some other illnesses. Boswellic acids are the active compounds of frankincense and AKBA (3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid) is the most important and effective acid among them. Some studies have shown that the use of frankincense can also improve the learning and enhance the memory in animals and human beings. It seems that frankincense might have a potential ability to be used as an alternative natural medicine not only for chronic and inflammatory diseases but also for brain and memory disorders.
ISSN:2225-4110