Frankincense

Thomas S.

Active Member
#4
It´s interesting toread that frankincense essential oil contaibs inly traces of the anti-inflammatory boswellic acids (cit.):
"One set describes how “Frankincense oil” kills cancer cells and many people assume they mean Frankincense essential oil, which is not the case. The Frankincense oil in the studies they refer to in many online shops is either a solvent extraction of whole Frankincense oleoresin that includes the Boswellic acids, or an essential oil to which the resin and Boswellic acids have been added. The essential oil of Frankincense contains no anti-cancer Boswellic acids. The only way to benefit from the Boswellic acids is to utilize the resin of Frankincense, not the essential oil."

So you would have to consume the resin, or more specifically, the oleo-resin of frankincense that contain the boswellic acids, in order to get your supply of these substances that have an effect on cancer cells.
 

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#5
Interesting article, @Thomas S. I find the claims of merchants to be scientifically inadequate, as Mr Riegler himself wisely pontificates, hence I took the word of doctors when I set out to look for medicinal grade frankincense oil. According to Dr Mercola, whom I respect greatly, it is the alpha-pinene in frankincense essential oil that induces cell death and apoptosis, not the boswellic acid:

"Several studies have demonstrated that alpha-pinene, a bioactive ingredient in frankincense oil, induces cell death in cancer cells, including malignant melanoma cells, breast cancer and pancreatic cancer cells"

You can peruse the full article here: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/01/10/frankincense-essential-oil.aspx
 
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Thomas S.

Active Member
#7
Well, I did an an on-line search on alpha pinene, and I learned that alpha-pinene occurs in a varety of plants, from rosemary and eucallyptus to pine trees and peppermint. Maybe it is easier to brew some peppermint tea than ingest frankincense essential oil....
 
A

Alkhadra

Guest
#9
Just thought I'd mention here, if anyone here stumbles upon genuine Socotran Frankincense.... Man oh man, hands down the best Frankincense experience I've ever tried, beats the Hojari stuff for days.
 
#12
A

Alkhadra

Guest
#14

~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
#15
Mermade has some, link below. It's a different species so hard to compare... They also have Socotran myrrh that's really nice. Just put one of everything in your cart and you'll be good. ;)

https://www.mermadearts.com/product_info.php?cPath=43&products_id=7889
Well... there goes my trip through Somaliland, my friend in Ethiopia forewarned of kidnapping and territorial gangs, not to mention the current military occupation of the island... hmmm, maybe I'll just order it online...
 
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A

Alkhadra

Guest
#17
Looks like they have the one you were referring to as well: https://www.mermadearts.com/p/frankincense/yemeni-gold-an-unusual-frankincense

Is that the one?
Read the description, they mention buying it from Socotra but they believe it is actually from peninsular Yemen. I wonder what makes them think that. From what I know, and from what's out there regarding Boswelia Socotrana, it's a species endemic to the island of Socotra. I wonder why they labelled it Socotrana though, if they have their suspicions regarding its origin. o_O
 
#18
Read the description, they mention buying it from Socotra but they believe it is actually from peninsular Yemen. I wonder what makes them think that. From what I know, and from what's out there regarding Boswelia Socotrana, it's a species endemic to the island of Socotra. I wonder why they labelled it Socotrana though, if they have their suspicions regarding its origin. o_O
Whatever it is... it's really nice too! :)

Also, the Black Dhofari Sacra is well worth checking out.

Let me know if you come across any of the Socotrana you're referring to though.
 
#19
Well... there goes my trip through Somaliland, my friend in Ethiopia forewarned of kidnapping and territorial gangs, not to mention the current military occupation of the island... hmmm, maybe I'll just order it online...
Wow, that's disappointing to hear... I hope things only get better. :)
 
#20
Instead of buying from MermadeArts, buy from the companies they get their incense from. Namely Apothecarys Garden and InknScents, both are Etsy stores. And they charge less for shipping than Mermade. Also, Apothecarys Garden imports various frankincenses and myrrh directly from different regions in (North) Africa so you know it´s exactly from where the label says it is. Dan Riegler (the owner of Apothecarys Garden) travels there regularly to establish good contacts to the local vendors (basically, he does for frankincense what Ensar does for oud).