Once upon a time, the Three Kings brought precious gifts to newborn baby Jesus. Those gifts — gold, myrrh and frankincense — were the most precious, valuable gifts of the ancient world.
Now according to a new study, one of those gifts, frankincense, could be the key to defeating some of the most frightening diseases of the modern world, including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer, thanks to its ability to target inflammatory enzymes and stop the disease cascade.
The molecule behind the anti-inflammatory mechanism
For years, researchers at Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena in Thuringia, Germany, have been studying frankincense to try to break down the mechanism behind its power.
Although the team knew from previous studies that the resin known as frankincense, extracted from the bark of the Boswellia tree, contained anti-inflammatory substances, no one knew how it worked — until now.
Before the current study, researchers had already proven that a frankincense enzyme, called 5-lipoxygenase, helps promote the formation of leukotrienes, an important group of inflammatory mediators in your body.
But that wasn’t enough for the Jena team…
The researchers wanted to dig deeper to understand exactly how frankincense blocks inflammation and decided to do just that using crystal structure analysis to study the enzymes and its interactions.
And here’s what they found…
First, by observing the interaction of frankincense with those inflammatory leukotrienes under that crystal analysis, the researchers were able to determine that the key player that makes the essential oil so powerfully anti-inflammatory is a compound called boswellic acid.
The team found that this acid binds the inflammatory enzymes in a manner far different from other anti-inflammatories that leads to actual structural changes in the enzyme to inhibit its activity.
In other words, the boswellic acid from frankincense stops inflammatory enzymes from working.
But researchers discovered something even more compelling…
According to Dr. Jana Gerstmeier, the pharmacist on the Jena team and one of the study’s two lead authors, frankincense has a domino effect on the structure of inflammatory enzymes, which is even more important.
The team says that when the boswellic acid from frankincense binds to the inflammatory enzymes and changes its structure, not only does it stop inflammation at its source, it also reprograms the enzymes — turning them from inflammatory enzymes into anti-inflammatory enzymes.
Using frankincense
How can you put frankincense to use?
You can find frankincense in tablet form and Boswellia in supplement form. I don’t have personal experience with either, so you should follow the manufacturer’s suggestion for dosing if you decide to try it.
According to our friends over at Healthline, the following dosages of frankincense were reported effective for certain conditions, and supported by research:
- Asthma: 300–400 mg, three times per day
- Crohn’s disease: 1,200 mg, three times per day
- Osteoarthritis: 200 mg, three times per day
- Rheumatoid arthritis: 200–400 mg, three times per day
- Ulcerative colitis: 350–400 mg, three times per day
- Gingivitis: 100–200 mg, three times per day
And for more ways to benefit from frankincense, check out 22 powerful uses of frankincense essential oil.
Sources:
- Inflammation: A unifying theory of disease
- Change of direction in immune defense: Frankincense reprograms inflammatory enzyme
