PMID: 

Daru. 2011 ;19(4):288-94. PMID: 22615671

Abstract Title: 

The effect of Frankincense in the treatment of moderate plaque-induced gingivitis: a double blinded randomized clinical trial.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND AND THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Extract of Boswellia Serrata species has been used in the Indian traditional medicine in the treatment of various inflammatory diseases. The present study was designed to evaluate anti-inflammatory effects of Frankincense in the treatment of gingivitis, which is a periodontal tissue inflammatory disease.METHODS: This double blind randomized placebo controlled trial was carried out among high school female students with moderate plaque-induced gingivitis. Based on either administration of 0.1 gram of Frankincense extract or 0.2 gram of its powder or placebo and whether the patients undergone scaling and root planning (SRP) or not, they were randomly assigned to 6 groups. The primary efficacy outcome was changes in Gingival Index (Loe&Sillness) and the secondary outcomes were alteration in plaque index (Sillness&Loe), bleeding index (Cowell) and probing pocket depth (WHO probe). All indices were measured in the 0, 7th and 14th days of the study.RESULTS: Seventy five patients ranged of 15-18 years old were enrolled. At the end of the study, the indices in all groups showed significant decreases in comparison to the first day (p

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PMID: 

Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2018 Jan ;57(1):93-95. Epub 2017 Feb 1. PMID: 28954520

Abstract Title: 

Topical Sandalwood Oil for Common Warts.

Abstract: 

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sandalwood oil for cutaneous viral warts caused by human papillomavirus. Sandalwood oil was applied topically twice daily for 12 weeks to cutaneous warts on any area of the body. Data collected at each visit included measurement of wart size, photograph of the warts, and documentation of treatment compliance and any adverse reactions. Ten subjects were enrolled and received treatment. At the end of the study, 8 of 10 (80%) had complete resolution of all treated warts. The remaining 2 subjects had improvement rated as moderate (25% to>90%). There were no complaints of skin irritation, erythema, itching, peeling of skin or scarring, pain or discomfort, or other adverse events reported. Sandalwood oil appears to be effective in the painless treatment of cutaneous warts caused by human papillomavirus.

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PMID: 

Medicines (Basel). 2017 Jun 24 ;4(3). Epub 2017 Jun 24. PMID: 28930259

Abstract Title: 

Sandalwood Oil and Turmeric-Based Cream Prevents Ionizing Radiation-Induced Dermatitis in Breast Cancer Patients: Clinical Study.

Abstract: 

: : The primary objective of this study was to ascertain the benefit of Vicco turmeric Ayurvedic cream (VTC; Vicco Laboratories, Mumbai, India) sandalwood oil and turmeric-based cream in preventing radiodermatitis in women undergoing curative radiotherapy for their breast cancer.: The study was an investigator-blinded randomized study with Johnsons Baby Oil (JBO; Johnson& Johnson Ltd., Baddi, India) as a comparator, administered daily from the start of radiation therapy for 5 weeks in women receiving breast radiation therapy, 50 Gy in 2 Gy fractions daily for 5 weeks. The endpoints were to ascertain the delay in the appearance and the degree of severity of dermatitis throughout the study period in accordance to the Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) score.: The results indicated that the topical application of VTC delayed and mitigated the radiodermatitis. When compared to the Johnson's Baby Oil, a significant decrease (= 0.025) in the incidence of grade 1 was seen at week two, and also in grade 2 and 3 at week 3 (= 0.003) and week 4 (= 0.02), respectively, in the VTC cohort. A concomitant decrease in the average severity was also observed at week 2 (= 0.02), week 3 (= 0.05) and week 4 (= 0.03).CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that VTC cream significantly reduces radiation dermatitis when applied to the breast during and after radiation therapy. The result of this study indicates the beneficial effects. Double blind randomized control studies are required to further confirm the beneficial effects of VTC in mitigating radiodermatitis is people undergoing radiation treatment for their cancer.

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PMID: 

Anticancer Res. 2018 08 ;38(8):4475-4480. PMID: 30061212

Abstract Title: 

Alpha-Santalol, a Component of Sandalwood Oil Inhibits Migration of Breast Cancer Cells by Targeting theβ-catenin Pathway.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND/AIM: Alpha-santalol, a terpenoid found in sandalwood oil has been shown to inhibit breast cancer cell growth in vitro by inducing apoptosis, but the mechanisms underlying the growth inhibitory effects of alpha-santalol are not fully understood. In this study, we demonstrate thatα-santalol treatment targets Wnt/β-catenin pathway to inhibit migration of cultured breast cancer cells.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Migration assays, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence were used to examine the mechanism of action of a-santalol in breast cancer cells.RESULTS: Exposure of MDA-MB 231 and MCF-7 cells toα-santalol resulted in a significant reduction in their migratory potential and wound healing ability. In addition, α-santalol affected the localization of β-catenin from cytosol to nucleus in MDA-MB 231 cells.CONCLUSION: Alpha-santalol inhibited migration of breast cancer cells may be mediated, in part, by targeting Wnt//β-catenin pathway. β-catenin represents an important target of α-santalol's response for future pre-clinical studies.

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PMID: 

RSC Adv. 2018 Oct 3 ;8(59):33753-33774. Epub 2018 Oct 2. PMID: 30319772

Abstract Title: 

East Indian sandalwood ( L.) oil confers neuroprotection and geroprotection inactivating SKN-1/Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Abstract: 

East Indian Sandalwood Oil (EISO) has diverse beneficial effects and has been used for thousands of years in traditional folk-medicine for treatment of different human ailments. However, there has been no in-depth scientific investigation to decipher the neuroprotective and geroprotective mechanism of EISO and its principle components,α- and β-santalol. Hence the current study was undertaken to assess the protective effects of EISO, and α- and β-santalol against neurotoxic (6-OHDA/6-hydroxydopamine) and proteotoxic (α-synuclein) stresses in amodel. Initially, we found that EISO and its principle components exerted an excellent antioxidant and antiapoptotic activity as it was able to extend the lifespan, and inhibit the ROS generation, and germline cell apoptosis in 6-OHDA-intoxicated. Further, we showed that supplementation of EISO, andα- and β-santalol reduced the 6-OHDA and α-synuclein-induced Parkinson's disease associated pathologies and improved the physiological functions. The genetic and reporter gene expression analysis revealed that an EISO, or α- and β-santalol-mediated protective effect does not appear to rely on DAF-2/DAF-16, but selectively regulates SKN-1 and its downstream targets involved in antioxidant defense and geroprotective processes. Together, our findings indicated that EISO and its principle components are worth exploring further as a candidate redox-based neuroprotectant for the prevention andmanagement of age-related neurological disorders.

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PMID: 

Oncol Lett. 2013 Oct ;6(4):1140-1146. Epub 2013 Aug 8. PMID: 24137478

Abstract Title: 

Composition and potential anticancer activities of essential oils obtained from myrrh and frankincense.

Abstract: 

The present study aimed to investigate the composition and potential anticancer activities of essential oils obtained from two species, myrrh and frankincense, by hydrodistillation. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 76 and 99 components were identified in the myrrh and frankincense essential oils, respectively, with the most abundant components, 2-Cyclohexen-1-one, 4-ethynyl-4-hydroxy-3,5,5-trimethyl- and-Octylacetate, accounting for 12.01 and 34.66%, respectively. The effects of the two essential oils, independently and as a mixture, on five tumor cell lines, MCF-7, HS-1, HepG2, HeLa and A549, were investigated using the MTT assay. The results indicated that the MCF-7 and HS-1 cell lines showed increased sensitivity to the myrrh and frankincense essential oils compared with the remaining cell lines. In addition, the anticancer effects of myrrh were markedly increased compared with those of frankincense, however, no significant synergistic effects were identified. The flow cytometry results indicated that apoptosis may be a major contributor to the biological efficacy of MCF-7 cells.

PMID: 

Pharmacology. 2019 Nov 20:1-9. Epub 2019 Nov 20. PMID: 31747659

Abstract Title: 

Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiac Abnormalities in Rats: Attenuation via Sandalwood Oil.

Abstract: 

INTRODUCTION: The clinical use of doxorubicin (DOX) is challenged by its incremental dose-related cardiotoxicity.OBJECTIVE: The aim of the hereby study was to investigate sandalwood essential oil (SEO) against DOX-induced cardiac toxicity.METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated into 4 groups. Groups 1 signified the control, whereas group 2 administered 100 mg/kg/day SEO, both act as control. In group 3, DOX was given intraperitoneal in a dose of 3 mg/kg/ every other day for 2 weeks to induced cardiotoxicity. While group 4 received a combination of SEO and DOX for 2 weeks. DOX prompted variations were assessed by measuring cardiac injury biomarkers, including creatine phosphokinase, cardiac troponin T, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), electrocardiogram (ECG) fluctuations, heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP) indices. The effect of both DOX and SEO on various antioxidants such as glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase and inflammatory mediators including interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and NF-κB was quantified.RESULTS: DOX augmented cardiac injury biomarkers, altered ECG, deceased HR and antioxidants, and finally increased BP indices. Treatment with SEO significantly (p

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PMID: 

Chin Med. 2014 ;9:18. Epub 2014 Jul 2. PMID: 25006348

Abstract Title: 

Differential effects of selective frankincense (Ru Xiang) essential oil versus non-selective sandalwood (Tan Xiang) essential oil on cultured bladder cancer cells: a microarray and bioinformatics study.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Frankincense (Boswellia carterii, known as Ru Xiang in Chinese) and sandalwood (Santalum album, known as Tan Xiang in Chinese) are cancer preventive and therapeutic agents in Chinese medicine. Their biologically active ingredients are usually extracted from frankincense by hydrodistillation and sandalwood by distillation. This study aims to investigate the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activities of frankincense and sandalwood essential oils in cultured human bladder cancer cells.METHODS: The effects of frankincense (1,400-600 dilutions) (v/v) and sandalwood (16,000-7,000 dilutions) (v/v) essential oils on cell viability were studied in established human bladder cancer J82 cells and immortalized normal human bladder urothelial UROtsa cells using a colorimetric XTT cell viability assay. Genes that responded to essential oil treatments in human bladder cancer J82 cells were identified using the Illumina Expression BeadChip platform and analyzed for enriched functions and pathways. The chemical compositions of the essential oils were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.RESULTS: Human bladder cancer J82 cells were more sensitive to the pro-apoptotic effects of frankincense essential oil than the immortalized normal bladder UROtsa cells. In contrast, sandalwood essential oil exhibited a similar potency in suppressing the viability of both J82 and UROtsa cells. Although frankincense and sandalwood essential oils activated common pathways such as inflammatory interleukins (IL-6 signaling), each essential oil had a unique molecular action on the bladder cancer cells. Heat shock proteins and histone core proteins were activated by frankincense essential oil, whereas negative regulation of protein kinase activity and G protein-coupled receptors were activated by sandalwood essential oil treatment.CONCLUSION: The effects of frankincense and sandalwood essential oils on J82 cells and UROtsa cells involved different mechanisms leading to cancer cell death. While frankincense essential oil elicited selective cancer cell death via NRF-2-mediated oxidative stress, sandalwood essential oil induced non-selective cell death via DNA damage and cell cycle arrest.

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PMID: 

Chin J Nat Med. 2014 May ;12(5):345-50. PMID: 24856757

Abstract Title: 

Cardioprotective and antioxidant effects of oleogum resin"Olibanum"from Bos Boswellia carteri Birdw. (Bursearceae).

Abstract: 

One of the leading causes of death worldwide is cardiovascular disease, hence searching for a cure is an important endeavor. The totally safe, edible, and inexpensive Boswellia plant exudate, known as olibanum or frankincense, is considered to possess diverse medicinal values in traditional medicine and from recent biological studies. Investigating the cardioprotective and antioxidant activities of olibanum from a Boswellia species, family Bursearaceae, namely Boswellia carteri Birdw. was the aim of this study. Cardioprotective activity was evaluated using a model of myocardial infarction induced by isoprenaline (ISO), while antioxidant activity was tested adopting nitric oxide scavenging (NOS) and azino-bis-3-ethyl benzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assays. The results revealed a mild cardioprotective effect and weak antioxidant activity.

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PMID: 

Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2014 Sep ;7S1:S485-90. PMID: 25312172

Abstract Title: 

Analgesic effects of crude extracts and fractions of Omani frankincense obtained from traditional medicinal plant Boswellia sacra on animal models.

Abstract: 

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the analgesic effect of Boswellia sacra (B. sacra), which could support the Omani traditional uses of frankincense for muscle, stomach, and arthritis pain.METHODS: The crude extract, the essential oils and various sub-fractions of the crude methanol extract (each 300 mg/kg of the body weight of the animal) obtained from the resin of B. sacra were administered orally, and were evaluated for their analgesic activities by using two well known models of pain in mice, viz. acetic acid induced writhing test and formalin induced pain test in mice.RESULTS: Of 13 samples, almost all of them were effective at an orally administered dose of 300 mg/kg of the body weight. The acetic acid induced writhes were inhibited in all the three phases with comparable values to the standard drug aspirin (300 mg/kg of body weight) with inhibition of 67.6% in phase I, 66.8% in phase II, and 37.9% in phase III. At the same time, all the tested samples were found effective in both the early and the late phases of formalin test. In formalin test, most of the tested samples showed more inhibitory effects as compared to the standard drug aspirin (300 mg/kg of body weight), which showed 36.2% and 29.6% inhibition in early and late phases respectively. Among the tested samples, the most significant inhibition was produced by Shabi frankincense oil (57.5% in early phase, and 55.6% in late phase). Interestingly, the extracts showed comparable percentage of inhibition to the oil and found in the following order: 60% chloroform/n-hexane sub-fraction (55.3% in early phase, and 66.7% in late phase), and 70% chloroform/n-hexane sub-fraction (59.6% in early phase, and 63.0% in late phase).CONCLUSIONS: The present study provided the scientific justification about the analgesic properties of the essential oils, extract, and various sub-fractions obtained from the resin of B. sacra, thus validating its use in traditional folk medicines and other products; and hence supporting the development in the analgesic properties of bioactive natural substances.

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