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Frankincense (Heaven’s Gift)—Chemical and Biological Diversity

A special issue of Current Issues in Molecular Biology (ISSN 1467-3045). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioorganic Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 2464

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Biodiversity Research Centre, Dohfar University, Salalah 2059, Oman
Interests: plant extracts; anti-viral activity; antibacterial activity; anti-inflammatory; nature compound

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is a French word meaning “pure incense.” is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia in the family Burseraceae. Frankincense has been employed for medicinal, religious, and sacrificial purposes over 5000 years. Frankincense has been used in numerous traditional medicines to treat cancer, stomach issues, flatulence, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, central nervous system diseases, constipation, and inflammatory diseases. In the last two decades, the use of frankincense has become more popular in European countries to treat various chronic inflammatory disorders including arthritis, chronic bowel diseases, asthma, peritumoral brain edema, and other diseases. Various triterpenes, i.e., ursanes and oleanane-type triterpenes (boswellic acids), are the major natural products of resin of frankincense. Frankincense and its boswellic acids have been used for treatment since ancient times. Modern medicine supported many of the known traditional medicinal uses of frankincense via clinical trials for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, inflammation, labor pain, and Alzheimer’s disease.

The focus of this Special Issue is on frankincense-based chemical and biological diversity (molecular level). Furthermore, this Special Issue will also place emphasis on the relationship between the chemical structure of boswellic acids, incensole derivatives, serratol derivatives, essential oils, and other chemical constituents isolated from frankincense. Moreover, this Special Issue welcomes articles on the synthesis and biological effects of boswellic acids, incensole derivatives, serratol derivatives, and other natural products derivatives reported from frankincense. This Special Issue will also focus on the development of new frankincense-derived therapeutic agents, employing the newest techniques of pharmacology, biotechnology, and genetic engineering. This Special Issue welcomes original articles, communications, and reviews dealing with frankincense.

This Special Issue is supervised by Dr. Hidayat Hussain and assisted by our Topical Advisory Panel Member Prof. Luay Rashan (Dhofar University).

Dr. Hidayat Hussain
Prof. Dr. Luay Rashan
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • frankincense
  • drug discovery
  • molecular level target identification
  • natural product derivatives
  • bioactive synthetic compounds
  • boswellic acids
  • incensole derivatives
  • serratol derivatives
  • frankincense essential oils
  • human health
  • human diseases
  • computational methods
  • in vitro studies
  • in vivo studies
  • mechanism of action
  • target identification

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 3281 KiB  
Article
Frankincense (Boswellia serrata) Extract Effects on Growth and Biofilm Formation of Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Its Intracellular Infection in Human Gingival Epithelial Cells
by David Vang, Aline Cristina Abreu Moreira-Souza, Nicholas Zusman, German Moncada, Harmony Matshik Dakafay, Homer Asadi, David M. Ojcius and Cassio Luiz Coutinho Almeida-da-Silva
Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2024, 46(4), 2991-3004; https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb46040187 - 30 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1743
Abstract
Frankincense is produced by Boswellia trees, which can be found throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia. Boswellia serrata extract has been shown to have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects. Periodontitis is an oral chronic inflammatory disease that affects nearly [...] Read more.
Frankincense is produced by Boswellia trees, which can be found throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia. Boswellia serrata extract has been shown to have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects. Periodontitis is an oral chronic inflammatory disease that affects nearly half of the US population. We investigated the antimicrobial effects of B. serrata extract on two oral pathogens associated with periodontitis. Using the minimum inhibitory concentration and crystal violet staining methods, we demonstrated that Porphyromonas gingivalis growth and biofilm formation were impaired by treatment with B. serrata extracts. However, the effects on Fusobacterium nucleatum growth and biofilm formation were not significant. Using quantification of colony-forming units and microscopy techniques, we also showed that concentrations of B. serrata that were not toxic for host cells decreased intracellular P. gingivalis infection in human gingival epithelial cells. Our results show antimicrobial activity of a natural product extracted from Boswellia trees (B. serrata) against periodontopathogens. Thus, B. serrata has the potential for preventing and/or treating periodontal diseases. Future studies will identify the molecular components of B. serrata extracts responsible for the beneficial effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frankincense (Heaven’s Gift)—Chemical and Biological Diversity)
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