For thousands of years, essential oils have been used to heal. Evidence and history show that Egyptians used essential oils in healing processes as far back as 4500 BC. 1 The Egyptians purchased whole shipments from the Phoenicians of frankincense resin to use in incense and insect repellent as well as perfume and ointments on wounds and sores ( 2).
Some research suggests that frankincense oils may be an effective way to treat some types of cancer. This raises the question: How is frankincense used for cancer treatment?
Frankincense has many other health benefits. It can help to control bleeding, speed up wound healing, improve oral health, fight inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, improve uterine health and even act as an antidepressant.
What’s incense?
Incense is made from the resin of the trees in Boswellia ( Boswellia Sacra, Boswellia carterii, Boswellia frereana or boswellia serata). These trees are found in Oman, Yemen, Somalia, and the Horn of Africa ( 3). Frankincense has been used in Oman since thousands of years. It has been shipped to China, India, and the Mediterranean by ships.
Many love the musky and lemony scent of incense. Because of its healing properties, frankincense has been used in incense for centuries in ancient rituals. The oil’s anti-inflammatory, rejuvenating and anti-inflammatory properties were a prized by priests, rabbis and other healers all over the globe, especially those from the Middle East.
Burning the resin was a traditional way to repel evil spirits or overcome negative energies. Incense is still commonly found in temples and churches today.
Many of the active ingredients in the Boswellia Genus stand out as being the most beneficial. These include terpenes, boswellic acid, powerful anti-inflammatories, and protect our cells ( 5). Different species of Boswellia have different amounts of beneficial active substances.
Boswellia carterii It is high in alphapinene and a variety of monoterpenes that boost the immune system. It is used to treat skin conditions such as sunburns and scarring.
Boswellia Frereanait’s grown at higher elevations which gives it a unique chemical structure. This Boswellia variety is rich in pinene and thujene. It can be used as an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and pain reliever.
Boswellia sacrait has the highest level of alpha-pinene making it an incredible anti-inflammatory. It can be used to relieve pain from arthritis and other joint-related problems.
Boswellia Serrata It has a high level of natural components, such as alpha thujene (alpha-pinene) and limonene. These compounds are part of the monoterpene family, making the Blockingvariety an effective antiseptic, decongestant, and anti-inflammatory agent.
Inflammation is another common cause of cancer. Frankincense’s main anti-inflammatory properties are what make it so effective in fighting cancer.
Frankincense essential oils and cancer
Although research on frankincense’s effects on cancer is still in its infancy, the current results are encouraging. Frankincense does not cause harm to healthy cells, unlike chemotherapy. It also has no severe side effects. It can even kill cancer cells that are resistant to chemotherapy, according to some studies.
In a laboratory experiment, researchers in China examined the anti-cancer effects on five types of tumor cells using myrrh and frankincense oils. Results showed that the combination of myrrh oil and frankincense oils increased the sensitivity of human skin and breast cancer cells ( 6).
Another study by researchers at the University of Leicester found that a chemical in frankincense, known as acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA), has the ability to kill cancer cells (7). It could be used to treat breast, ovarian and prostate cancers, according to the researchers. It was found to be effective in the treatment of late-stage ovarian carcinoma, which is a rare and difficult-to-treat type of cancer. Even resistant cancer cells eventually died after being exposed to AKBA.
Researchers noted that frankincense may be able to overcome drug resistance, and it could increase survival rates for patients with advanced-stage cancer.
Kamla Al-Salmani was the principal investigator of the study.
We have shown that the AKBA compound is effective in killing cancer cells after a year of in vitro testing it with ovarian cancer cell line lines. There are no side effects associated with frankincense. This discovery has great potential to be used in clinical trials and could even be considered as an alternative treatment for ovarian carcinoma.
Extracts from Boswellia gum species resins were also found to have antiproliferative, and proapoptotic properties in human leukemia cell line lines. 9 The resin extract has been clinically shown to reduce peritumoral swelling in patients with glioblastoma ( 10) and reverse multiple brain metastases in a breast cancer patient ( 11).
AKBA, Boswellia resins’ most potent anti-inflammatory compound (mentioned above), has also been shown to have cytostatic effects and apoptotic properties in numerous human cancer cell lines including leukemia cells (13), meningioma (12), hepatoma (14), and melanoma (fifteen) cells.
This studio states that frankincense essential oils “appears distinguish cancerous cells from normal bladder cells, and suppress cancer cell viability.” They also identified multiple pathways that could be activated using frankincense oil in order to induce bladder cancer cell deaths. Researchers believe that Frankincense oil may be an alternative intravesical treatment for bladder cancer. In this instance, intravesical therapy involves injecting a liquid drug (or a suspension of frankincense) directly into the bladder.
In a recent study, oncotarget found that frankincense essential oils has antimelanoma activity for in vitroY Living Models ( 17).
Frankincense essential oils and arthritic pain
We have already seen that frankincense is a powerful agent in reducing inflammation. The 2006 study that was published in medical plants showed several ways that frankincense’s boswellic acid could help to reduce inflammation.
Frankincense is believed to be effective in preventing the destruction of cartilage tissue and relieving arthritis symptoms. Cardiff University scientists have shown that the treatment with a Boswellia Frereana extract inhibits the production key inflammatory molecules that cause the condition ( 18).
Dr. Ahmed Ali is a co-professor in research at Compton Group.
Scientists are focusing their efforts on finding new medications to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis and inflammatory arthritis. Our research has led to the discovery of an innovative chemical extraction technique to identify the active principle incense .
This allows us to further analyze the chemical entity and to compare it with other anti-inflammatory drugs that have been used to treat the condition.
Many anecdotal and ancient stories have supported the ability of frankincense to reduce inflammation in people with joint-related conditions like arthritis.
The Best Frankincense Oils and Extracts to Treat Arthritis and Cancer
There are many excellent brands of essential oils, but Eden’s Garden is my favorite. Their oils are high quality and potent. Eden’s Garden offers a variety of Boswellia species so that you can select the one that suits your needs best.
These oils are great for treating inflammation pain and fighting cancers, such as skin cancer. Essential oils should not be consumed. I recommend only using them topically.
* Boswellia carterii This is good for treating skin problems (including skin cancer) as well as scarring. It is also good for arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.
* Boswellia fraereana It is good for reducing inflammation, as well as acting as an antibacterial/antispasmodic.
* Boswellia Sacra It is also rich in powerful anti-inflammatory agents, making it ideal to treat any condition that causes inflammation (such as arthritis).
Frankincense extracts have higher levels of cancer-fighting boswellic acids (around 40-60% compared to 3% essential oils ( according this article). Frankincense can be taken internally to fight internal cancers. Keep in mind, however, that the above-mentioned studies have shown that frankincense essential oils can be used to treat cancer cells (read that article ).
tree secrets creates an extract of Frankincense that is organic and alcohol-free. It is also vegan-friendly and free of GMOs.
harmonic arts I also make an extract of frankincense, but it’s extracted with alcohol which I try to avoid when making tinctures.
