Old World Frankincense Offers Hope for Arthritis

Osteoarthritis—the most common form of arthritis—generally targets weight-bearing joints such as the knees and hips, but can also affect the hands, wrists, feet and spine. It is characterized by chronic painful swelling and stiffness in the joints which restricts movement, often making even simple daily tasks difficult. Evidence of osteoarthritis (OA) dates back as far as the Ice Age, while the cause of the disease is still not completely know nor is there a cure, it afflicts almost 30 million people in the United States alone.

The typical treatment for OA is some form of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) to reduce the swelling, but they come with many adverse side effects: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, decreased appetite, rash, dizziness, headache, and drowsiness and their use may lead to kidney and liver failure, ulcers, and prolonged bleeding after an injury or surgery. “The high incidence of adverse effects associated with currently available medications has created great interest in the search for an effective and safe alternative treatment,” said Siba Raychaudhuri, a faculty member of the University of California, Davis, who led new research showing that the old Indian herb frankincense had a surprising analgesic effect on the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

During the 90-day trial involving more than 70 patients, researchers used extract from the frankincense plant (boswellia serrata), enriched with 30% AKBA (3-O-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid), which is believed to be the most active ingredient in the plant. The participants, divided into three groups, were given either 100 mg/day or 250/day of the drug or they were given a placebo. Researchers examined the patients at 7, 30, 60, and 90-day intervals and used standard test methods to evaluate pain and physical functions at the beginning and during the trial period.

The team found that after just seven days, people given the highest dose of the herbal extract (which has anti-inflammatory properties) reported less pain and better mobility, and reported the extract showed no major adverse effects and appeared safe for human consumption and long-term use.

The authors of the paper believe that this compound may be “a promising alternative therapeutic strategy that may be used as a nutritional supplement against OA.” The findings of this study are published in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy.