What is Boswellia?Boswellia! Have you heard of this powerful herb before? It is commonly found in Asia and Africa from a tree called the boswellia serrata tree. It has been extracted and used in Ayurvedic medicine for many years to help treat inflammatory conditions. But…does it have evidence to help inflammatory bowel disease? Keep reading to find out!Boswellia (also known as Frankincense) contains 30-60% resin, 5-10% essential oils, and the rest is made up of polysaccharides (which are a chain of carbohydrates essential for the structure of plants). The resin contains components that aid in decreasing pro-inflammatory enzymes, with acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid being the most powerful. Lowering inflammation is one of the main goals in IBD care. With boswellia’s anti-inflammatory nature, how does it stack up against Crohn’s Disease and Colitis? Boswellia for Crohn’s DiseaseA study conducted on 102 patients with Crohn’s disease found that supplementing with bosewellia was as effective as using Mesalamine. In both treatment groups of the study, CDAI scores were reduced. Another study was performed with 82 participants with Crohn’s disease and it was found that boswellia supplementation was not effective in maintaining remission when compared to the placebo group. More studies are needed to understand the full extent of boswellia […]
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