Compound or practice · Supplement
Boswellia
An anti-inflammatory resin with some of the better osteoarthritis-pain data among botanicals.
- Overall grade
- Grade B
- Last revised
- 1
- graded outcome
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
2 at grade B — 2 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Osteoarthritis pain/functionEvidence grade B
Standardized extracts
Moderatemixed
Conditions
How the entry reads its effect on diagnosed conditions: the direction first, then the grade. Never a substitute for the person who treats you.
- Osteoarthritis ImprovesEvidence grade BReasonable RCT supportGrade B
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Studies disagree: Osteoarthritis pain/function (mixed agreement).
Interactions
Documented pairings with supplements and medicines. A medicine on this list is a conversation for whoever prescribes it.
Curcumin (Turmeric)Works together
Complementary anti-inflammatory pathways for joints.
The evidence in words
What it is
Boswellia serrata resin (standardized to boswellic acids, notably AKBA) is used for inflammatory joint pain.
How it works
Boswellic acids inhibit 5-lipoxygenase and leukotriene synthesis, a distinct anti-inflammatory pathway from NSAIDs.
What the evidence shows
Multiple small RCTs show reduced osteoarthritis pain and improved function, sometimes within a week, with reasonable consistency for a botanical. Standardized high-AKBA extracts perform best. A credible option for joint inflammation.
How to use it
100–250 mg/day of a high-AKBA standardized extract (product-dependent).
Safety & interactions
Well tolerated; occasional GI upset. Curcumin (Turmeric) — Complementary anti-inflammatory pathways for joints.
Bottom line
One of the more convincing joint botanicals for osteoarthritis pain. Use a standardized high-AKBA extract and give it a couple of weeks.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- Standard
- 100–250 mg/day high-AKBA extract.
Goes with
- Curcumin (Turmeric)Complementary anti-inflammatory pathways for joints.Evidence grade B
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Boswellia for OsteoarthritisEvidence grade B — Reasonable RCT supportEvidence grade B
- GlucosamineA joint mainstay with genuinely divided evidence — modest benefit at best, and a surprising cardiovascular-mortality observational signal in its favor.Evidence grade C
- Boswellia for Osteoarthritis pain/functionEvidence grade B — Standardized extractsEvidence grade B
- Boswellia: dosage and how to take it100–250 mg/day high-AKBA extract.Evidence grade B
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.