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Why bosweillia is the next ‘everything’ herb
It might sound off to call Bosweillia the “next” anything, considering it has been part of Ayurvedic and other traditional medical systems for millennia.
But in the current environment for herbal medicine, there are definitely currents that sweep up older botanicals into the world of research and into the news at the same time.
Boswellia is one of those herbs. Its unique attributes—especially its ability to inhibit 5-LOX inflammation, which most synthetic drugs can’t do safely— make it extremely worthy of attention. It modulates the body’s immune response to seasonal triggers, reduces asthma symptoms, and inhibits inflammatory gene expression.
It can help treat arthritis, joint disorders, and digestive diseases including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and colitis. In addition, it may also help stop the development of tumors and the spread of cancer.1-8
Inflammation’s insidious effects
Mention the word “inflammation” to most people, and their first thoughts will probably be aches and pains.
While that’s certainly pertinent to much of your practice, inflammation is implicated in virtually all diseases, from asthma to tumor formation.
For pain relief, Boswellia is an excellent partner to curcumin, which enhances its effectiveness at reducing the inflammatory damage of osteoarthritis.
In fact, a clinical study comparing the combination of the two herbal ingredients versus a generic celecoxib showed that nearly 65 percent of participants taking the natural compounds improved dramatically, versus 30 percent in the drug group.5
Breathing easier
Boswellia is an especially potent therapeutic for respiratory conditions because it inhibits the “4-series leukotrienes” (LTB4, LTC4, LTD4, and LTE4) that are activated, in part, by 5- LOX, making it helpful for asthma, allergies, sinusitis, and emphysema.9-12
In a six-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study, Boswellia was tested in 40 individuals with asthma, a mix of 23 men and 17 women ranging from 18 to 75 years old. At the end of the study, 70 percent showed marked improvement.3
Boswellia inhibits the action of histamine-producing mast cells, so it could be highly effective at reducing sinus pressure and swelling, without the side effects of conventional treatments.13,14 Boswellia also inhibits the human leukocyte elastase (HLE), making it an excellent treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).15,16
Digestive support
In a clinical study of Crohn’s disease that compared Boswellia to the drug mesalazine, Boswellia proved just as effective but without the potential side effects.17 Another clinical study
compared Boswellia with sulfasalazine. Here again, the Boswellia group did very well. Most patients in the Boswellia group—18 out of 20—improved in at least one parameter, and for 14 participants symptoms ended entirely.4,18
Targeting tumors
Boswellia can prevent damaged cells from duplicating, inhibit their growth, and prevent further damage. Age and environment can cause protective genes in the body to become inactive or “sleep.”
Because some of these genes direct the body to suppress tumors, that’s why the risk of cancer increases with age—the body’s defenses are increasingly inactive. Recently, researchers found that Boswellia helps “wake up” the sleeping genes that stop cancer cells from mutating and spreading, and reduces the survival rate of mutated cells, too.7,8
The right extract
It may be surprising that Boswellia requires special standardization. Acetyl-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) is one of Boswellia’s most powerful components. Because of this, many extracts have artificially increased (or spiked) levels of AKBA, or are essentially all AKBA. But that isn’t necessary; there are other compounds in the plant that are beneficial, too.
However, unstandardized Boswellia is not the answer either. First, it can contain as little as 1 percent AKBA. Second, one of the naturally-occurring compounds in Boswellia—beta-boswellic acid—is actually pro-inflammatory.
Leaving beta-boswellic acid at its natural levels as found in unstandardized extracts can mean that up to 25 percent of the herb would have an inflammation-causing compound.
A balanced approach is best: Boswellia standardized for at least 10 percent AKBA and virtually no beta-boswellic acids provides your patients with a true, complete Boswellia with all of the beneficial components they need, without potentially dangerous amounts of beta-boswellic acid.2,19
Unexplored potential
Boswellia has been part of traditional medicine for thousands of years, and now it seems we are on the cusp of realizing the herb’s full potential. Its ability to treat respiratory diseases, digestive disorders, and the potential to help prevent cancer makes it a truly multitalented botanical, and one that could have a prominent and honored place in your practice.
Source: Chiroeco
References:
1 Ammon HP. Modulation of the immune system by Boswellia serrata extracts and boswellic acids. Phytomedicine. 2010 Sep;17(11):862-7.
2 Ammon HP. Boswellic acids in chronic inflammatory diseases. Planta Med. 2006;72(12):1100-16.
3 Gupta I, Gupta V, Parihar A, et al. Effects of Boswellia serrata gum resin in patients with bronchial asthma: results of a double-blind, placebo- controlled, 6-week clinical study. Eur J Med Res. 1998;3(11):511-4.
4 Gupta I, Parihar A, Malhotra P, et al. Effects of Boswellia serrata gum resin in patients with ulcerative colitis. Eur J Med Res. 1997;2(1):37-43.
5 Antony B, Kizhakedath R, Benny M, Kuruvilla BT. Clinical Evaluation of a herbal product (Rhulief™) in the management of knee osteoarthritis.
Abstract 316. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2011;19(S1):S145-S146.
6 Takada Y, Ichikawa H, Badmaev V, Aggarwal BB. Acetyl-11-keto-beta- boswellic acid potentiates apoptosis, inhibits invasion, and abolishes osteoclastogenesis by suppressing NF-kappa B and NF-kappa B-regulated gene expression. J Immunol. 2006;176(5):3127-40.
7 Goel, A. Boswellia extracts induce DNA methylation changes in colon cancer cells. Poster presented at: International Meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association; May 6–10, 2011; Chicago, IL.
8 Satpathy R, Guru RK, Behera R, Nayak B. Prediction of anticancer property of bowsellic acid derivatives by quantitative structure activity relationship analysis and molecular docking study. Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2015;7(1):21-5. doi: 10.4103/0975-7406.148784.
9 Ammon HP, Safayhi H, Mack T, Sabieraj J. Mechanism of anti- inflammatory actions of curcumine and boswellic acids. J Enthnopharmacol. 1993;38:113-119.
10 Ammon HP, Mack T, Singh GB, Safayhi H. Inhibition of leukotriene B4 formation in rat peritoneal neutrophils by an ethanolic extract of the gum resin exudate of Boswellia serrata. Planta Med. 1991;57:203-207.
11 Sharma ML, Khajuria A, Kaul A, et al. Effect of salia guggal ex-Boswellia serrata on cellular and humoral immune responses and leucocyte migration. Agents Actions. 1988;24:161-164.
12 Samuelsson B, Leukotrienes: mediators of immediate hypersensitivity and reactions and inflammations. Science. 1983;220:568-75.
13 Pungle P, Banavalikar M, Suthar A, Biyani M, Mengi S. Immunomodulatory activity of boswellic acids of Boswellia serrata Roxb. Indian J Exp Biol. 2003;41(12):1460-2.
14Siddiqui MZ. Boswellia serrata, a potential antiinflammatory agent: an overview. [ITAL]Indian J Pharm Sci.[/ITAL] 2011;73(3):255-61.
15 Rall B, Ammon HP, Safayhi H. Boswellic acids and protease activities. [ITAL]Phytomedicine.[/ITAL] 1996;3:75-76.
16 Safayhi H, Rall B, Sailer ER, Ammon HP. Inhibition by boswellic acids of human leukocyte elastase. [ITAL]J Pharmacol Exp Ther.[/ITAL] 1997;281:460-463.
17 Gerhardt H, Seifert F, Buvari P, et al. Therapy of active Crohn disease with Boswellia serrata extract H 15. Z Gastroenterol.[/ITAL] 2001;39:11-17. [Article in German]
18 Rahimi R, Nikfar S, Abdollahi M. Induction of clinical response and remission of inflammatory bowel disease by use of herbal medicines: a meta-analysis. [ITAL]World J Gastroenterol./[ITAL] 2013;19(34):5738-49. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i34.5738.
19 Poeckel D, Tausch L, Altmann A, et al. Induction of central signaling pathways and select functional effects in human platelets by beta-boswellic acid. [ITAL]Br J Pharmacol.[/ITAL] 2005;146(4):514