Boswellia, also known as Indian frankincense, is an herbal extract from the Boswellia serrata tree. It is commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine, and its origins come from India, Africa, and the Arabian peninsula. For hundreds of years, people in those countries have been using this herb to treat a variety of medication conditions, predominantly those that are chronic and inflammatory in nature. In more recent years, people in Europe and America have started using this herb to help treat conditions like arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma.
Boswellia helps to decrease inflammation in a variety of different ways. But one of the main ways it does this though is by blocking the synthesis of leukotrienes, which are small chemical mediators produced by the body during an inflammatory reaction (1).
Leukotrienes are known to be a major component of the chronic intestinal inflammation caused by the inflammatory bowel diseases Chron’s and ulcerative colitis. So, it is no surprise that many countries around the world use this herb as part of the standard treatment for these conditions. There is also a great deal of research that shows Boswellia to be effective in the treatment of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (2). In addition to anti-inflammatory effects, Boswellia has also been shown to help heal ulcers, slow diarrhea, and facilitate wound healing (3).
This study compared Boswellia extract to sulfasalazine, a commonly prescribed drug for ulcerative colitis. Researchers compared stool properties, histopathology, rectal biopsies, and blood markers of patients taking either Boswellia or sulfasalazine for six weeks. The group taking Boswellia had an 82% remission in symptoms, while the group taking sulfasalazine had a 75% remission (4).
Because irritable bowel syndrome is not considered an inflammatory condition, there is less research done on Boswellia and IBS. But in the limited research that exists, there seems to be positive effect (5, 6). As a naturopathic physician, I know that the term IBS is used too broadly and actually encompasses many inflammatory disorders. For patients with SIBO, leaky gut, and dysbiosis (three top conditions that are commonly misdiagnosed as IBS), there is a strong inflammatory component to their disease. This likely explains the improvement seen in studies involving IBS and Boswellia.
It is important that patients be made aware of both the natural and pharmaceutical options available to treat their medical condition. But the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease should always be done under the supervision of a trained medical professional.
Dr. Katie Nuckolls is a naturopathic physician and owner of Thrive GI: Natural Digestive Medicine in Vancouver, Washington. She currently sees patients that live in Washington and Oregon through in-office visits and telemedicine. For more information, visit our contact page or schedule a free 15-minute consultation online.
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- Alam M, Khan H, Samiullah L, Siddique KM. A review on phytochemical and pharmacological studies of Kundur (Boswellia Serrata Roxb Ex Colebr.)-A Unani drug. J Appl Pharm Sci. 2012;2:148–56. [Google Scholar], https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/87550,
- Rahimi R, Shams-Ardekani MR, Abdollahi M. A review of the efficacy of traditional Iranian medicine for inflammatory bowel disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2010;16:4504–14. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9049593/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30676012/#:~:text=Conclusions%3A%20Boswellia%20serrata%20lecithin%2Dbased,cause%20side%20effects%20and%20stiptis.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8839120/