A Big Damn List of Frankincense Uses
What do scientists and books say?
Okay, let’s do this.
We don’t actually have a mountain of research on frankincense oil’s biological effects. I’ve based this list on the research I could find, and traditional uses of the oil mentioned in my aromatherapy book library. (References are after the post.)
I’ve also checked out research on some of its common components, α-pinene and d-limonene.
But not every type of frankincense oil contains the same levels of α-pinene and d-limonene.
Frankincense likes to keep us guessing.
There are a lot of different species of this plant, and their essential oils aren’t all the same. I mostly talk about Boswellia carterii here in the newsletter. But even different batches of Boswellia carterii oil vary (that happens with most essential oils, not just frankincense.)
As our pal Sal (Battaglia) says in The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy…
“I agree with Lis-Balchin who states that, because there is so much variation in the chemical composition of frankincense depending on the source of the resin, it is very difficult to make generalizations about its bioactivity.”
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Okay, now that’s all out of the way, let’s make some generalizations about frankincense’s bioactivity!
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Physical issues
Acne
Antibacterial
Anti-inflammatory
Antioxidant
Asthma (it may support the lungs and reduce the number/severity of asthma attacks, but it’s not a treatment for acute asthma attacks)
Bruises
Congestion
Fine lines & wrinkles
Fungal issues
Headaches
Immune health
Joints (including arthritis)
Lung health
Muscles
Oral care
Pain relief
Respiratory health
Scar care
Skin care (especially mature or dry skin)
Skin irritation
Sleep
Small wounds & scrapes
Stretchmarks
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Emotional issues + more
Anxiety
Depression
Meditation
Nightmares
Stress
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I’ll also mention that you can make incense with frankincense. Because I like to state the obvious sometimes. (The word “incense” is literally half of frankincense’s name, for shit’s sake. It’s one of frankincense’s top uses throughout history and it’s still one of the top uses today.)
It’s used to expand spiritual awareness, center your mind, and put you in touch with your inner guru/the great I AM (which you are).
One study suggests that burning frankincense causes your brain to release a psychoactive substance by activating “poorly understood ion channels” in the brain. Which is fucking annoying science-speak that doesn’t tell us anything.
Let’s have a conversation with these scientists to see wtf that even means:
So, science nerds, tell me about these “ion channels.”
“Well, these particular ion channels are responsible for sensations of warmth in the skin.”
Okay… but you said they’re in the brain.
“Yes. We found some in the brain too. We don’t know what they’re doing there.”
Enlightening. And what did you observe with frankincense?
“We observed that burning frankincense activated these ion channels and reduced depression and anxiety symptoms. In mice.”
Okay, sounds… good. I think. (Good for the anxious and depressed mice, I guess.) What does it mean for people?
“We think it means that maybe frankincense helps with depression and anxiety? And that’s part of how it makes you feel more spiritual?”
You don’t sound too sure about this.
“Yeah, it’s kinda just a theory we’re going with for now. We need to do more research.”
Okay, cool.
Ah, the wonders of science.
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By the way, if you start looking for research on frankincense yourself, you’ll find a shit-ton of it on boswellic acid, which is present in frankincense resin. But don’t be fooled—some of that research is jaw-dropping, for sure, but do you know how much boswellic acid is present in frankincense essential oil?
Zero.
So don’t be comin’ round here askin’ why I didn’t list research on boswellic acid and tumors (I’m looking at you, Jean).
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Coming soon, I’ll go into a little more detail about how frankincense may help asthma. Get that and more good shit by clicking this button:
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REFERENCES
Al-Saidi S, Rameshkumar KB, Hisham A, Sivakumar N, Al-Kindy S. (2012).Composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oils of four commercial grades of Omani luban, the oleo-gum resin of Boswellia sacra FLUECK. Chemistry & Biodiversity. 2012 Mar;9(3):615-24. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.201100189. PMID: 22422529.
Astani A, Reichling J, Schnitzler P (2010) Comparative study on the antiviral activity of selected monoterpenes derived from essential oils. Phytotherapy Research 24(5):673-9. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2955
Awadh Ali, N.A., Wurster, M., Arnold, N., Lindequist, U. and Wessjohan, L. (2009) Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from the oleogum resins of three endemic Soqotraen Boswellia species. Records of Natural Products 2, 1, 6-12.
Battaglia, S. (2019) The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy (Third Edition) Vol I: Foundations & Materia Medica. Zillmere, QLD, Australia. Black Pepper Creative Party, Ltd.
Cooksley, V. (2015). Aromatherapy: A Holistic Guide to Natural Healing with Essential Oils. Floramed Publishing, LLC.
Dorow, P., Weiss, T. H., Felix, R., & Schmutzler, H. (1987). [Effect of a secretolytic and a combination of pinene, limonene and cineole on mucociliary clearance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]. Arzneimittel-Forschung, 37(12), 1378-1381.
Hirota, R., Roger, N.N., Nakamura, H., Song, H.-S., Sawamura, M., and Suganuma, N. (2010) Anti-inflammatory effects of limonene from yuzu (Citrus junos Tanaka) essential oil on eosinophils. Journal of Food Science 75, 87-92.
Majeed, M., Majeed, S., Narayanan, N. K., & Nagabhushanam, K. (2019). A pilot, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the safety and efficacy of a novel Boswellia serrata extract in the management of osteoarthritis of the knee. Phytotherapy research : PTR, 33(5), 1457–1468. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.6338
Mikhaeil BR, Maatooq GT, Badria FA, Amer MM. (2003). Chemistry and immunomodulatory activity of frankincense oil. Zeitschrift fur Naturforschung. C, Journal of Biosciences. 2003 Mar-Apr;58(3-4):230-8. doi: 10.1515/znc-2003-3-416. PMID: 12710734.
Mojay, G. (1997) Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit. Rochester, Vermont: Healing Arts Press
Moussaieff, A., Rimmerman, N., Bregman, T., Straiker, A., Felder, C. C., Shoham, S., Kashman, Y., Huang, S. M., Lee, H., Shohami, E., Mackie, K., Caterina, M. J., Walker, J. M., Fride, E., & Mechoulam, R. (2008). Incensole acetate, an incense component, elicits psychoactivity by activating TRPV3 channels in the brain. FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 22(8), 3024–3034. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.07-101865
Raphael TJ, Kuttan G. (2003) Immunomodulatory activity of naturally occurring monoterpenes carvone, limonene, and perillic acid. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. May;25(2):285-94. doi: 10.1081/iph-120020476. PMID: 12784919.
Siddiqui M. Z. (2011). Boswellia serrata, a potential antiinflammatory agent: an overview. Indian journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 73(3), 255–261. https://doi.org/10.4103/0250-474X.93507
Tisserand, R. Frankincense oil and cancer in perspective. https://tisserandinstitute.org/frankincense-oil-and-cancer-in-perspective/
Wahab SM, Aboutabl EA, El-Zalabani SM, Fouad HA, De Pooter HL, El-Fallaha B. (1987). The essential oil of olibanum. Planta Medica. 1987 Aug;53(4):382-4. doi: 10.1055/s-2006-962745. PMID: 17269049.
Yang SA, Jeon SK, Lee EJ, Shim CH, Lee IS. (2010) Comparative study of the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of six essential oils and their components. Natural Product Research. 2010;24(2):140-51. doi: 10.1080/14786410802496598. PMID: 20077307.