Boswellia

Research corpus coverage

Chemistry notes

• CHEMISTRY: Relevant reported constituents include boswellic acids including AKBA; constituent presence alone does not establish clinical efficacy.

Traditional / historical use

Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.

• TRADITIONAL: Boswellia has been used for arthritis; inflammatory bowel and respiratory complaints; this records historical/traditional use and does not establish efficacy.

  MODERATE · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries

Modern evidence

• EVIDENCE: For the major use set (arthritis; inflammatory bowel and respiratory complaints), the evidence assessment is limited/mixed: Limited/mixed systematic-review evidence for osteoarthritis pain; insufficient for many inflammatory conditions.

  MODERATE · systematic review/meta-analysis · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries

  Mixed findings, product heterogeneity, or indirect evidence are preserved in the detailed profile.

Forms used traditionally

A listed form does not imply it suits every plant part, or that one preparation is interchangeable with another — see the plant’s own notes below.

Cats & dogs

• Caution

  Boswellia is typically well tolerated, but occasional gastrointestinal upset may occur; it may inhibit platelet aggregation and increase bleeding risk.

  Intrinsic toxicity · OTHER · herbal Boswellia product · MODERATE · veterinary_manual · Herbal Medicine in Veterinary Patients - Therapeutics

Additional safety notes (general, unstructured)

Free-text safety notes carried from their source — not broken out by species, route, or hazard type, and not equivalent to the structured records above. Each note names the kind of source it came from.

• SAFETY: Major issues include GI upset; rash; product variability. Contraindications/cautions include None established beyond allergy.

  MODERATE · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements

• SAFETY: Clinically relevant interaction concerns include Possible additive antiplatelet effects and CYP interactions.

  MODERATE · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements

  Some interactions are theoretical or based on case reports/pharmacokinetics rather than outcome trials.

• SAFETY: Pregnancy/lactation reference: Insufficient pregnancy/lactation evidence.

  MODERATE · regulatory monograph or evidence synthesis · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries

  Absence of evidence is not evidence of safety.

• Boswellia is typically well tolerated, but occasional gastrointestinal upset may occur; it may inhibit platelet aggregation and increase bleeding risk.

  MODERATE · veterinary_manual · Herbal Medicine in Veterinary Patients - Therapeutics

  Species and route were not specified.

Taxonomic identity note

• Boswellia is treated here as Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr. in the family Burseraceae; recorded older names include Boswellia glabra Roxb..