Frankincense smoke provides a calming scent.
There's a reason why the Magi brought frankincense to the baby Jesus. Native to the Arabian Peninsula and parts of eastern Africa, frankincense was prized for centuries for its exotic fragrance and medicinal properties. Clinical studies have been conducted around the world to examine the ascribed healing powers of the plant. Several of these studies have shown that frankincense can in fact help in the treatment of different types of conditions.
Emotional Stress
The soothing, but spicy fragrance of frankincense could be the reason it has been traditionally, if paradoxically, used to both calm the mind and stimulate it. However, it wasn't until more recent times that its benefits on the human psyche have been proven. In 2008, a study was published from an international team of researchers from the Hebrew University, Ariel University Center of Samaria, Tel-Aviv University and Herzog Memorial Hospital in Israel, Johns Hopkins University, Elli Lilly, and the University of Indiana at Bloomington in the United States. They concluded that breathing in the scent of frankincense could soothe feelings of anxiety and depression. It even suggests that the reason frankincense smoke is used during religious ceremonies is to add to the feeling of spiritual euphoria.
Joint Pain and Arthritis
In ancient times, sore joints were held over frankincense smoke to reduce painful inflammation. Centuries later, researchers at University of Tuebingen in Germany showed that the folk remedy may be rooted in fact, as published in Phytomedicine in Sept., 2010. The boswellic acids found in frankincense can reduce joint pain and arthritis symptoms, although it may be easier (and safer) to skip the smoke and apply it to the joints in oil form.
Skin Conditions
The anti-inflammatory properties may not only keep your body feeling younger, but it could also help your face look younger. A study published in 2010 from the University of Brescia in Italy, concluded that a base cream containing boswellic extract provided more noticeable treatment on patients with poor skin elasticity and fine wrinkles than that of the base cream by itself. These findings also have a historical origin: The ancient Romans applied a combination of frankincense resin and wax under their eyes to treat the after effects of particularly wild celebrations.
Cancer
Frankincense resin contains different anti-oxidant acids. These have been examined in several studies as possible anti-cancer agents. The University of Oklahoma published a study in 2009, the same year that suggested that boswellic acids could destroy human bladder cancer cells. The Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in China published its own report in October of the same year showed similar results when cells from a combination of chloroform and frankincense were isolated with leukemia cells. In a study published in March 2010, researchers at Ulm University in Germany discovered that frankincense's tirucallic acids inhibited the growth of prostate cancer in mice.
Asthma
Frankincense plays a role in a variety of folk cures for asthma and other respiratory disorders. Some call for the inhalation of the smoke while others involve eating or chewing the resin.
The same study from University of Tuebingen in Germany that demonstrated positive effects of frankincense on arthritis also found that 70 percent of their patients showed improvement in their bronchial asthma symptoms, while 20 percent saw results with a sugar pill.
Memory Loss
Frankincense resin is a traditional Arabic remedy for memory loss. It is typically chewed or added to coffee. There is some scientific validity to this one as well. The Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran discovered that when rats with hypothyroid disorder were given water laced with methimazole and frankincense, their speed in completing an underwater maze greatly increased over time, compared to those who were either given tap water or water laced with methimazole alone, according to their report published in 2010.
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