A journey through Eastern flavours and tastes to discoverprecious plants with health benefits: 1. Boswellia serrata

摘要

Starting in this issue, we will undertake a journey to the East to discover plants used in Eastern countries and highlight their healthy properties. This issue will be dedicated to boswellia, while the next will deal with ginger and turmeric. We all heard about the Magi from the East who, following a star, came to Bethlehem bringing gold, incense and myrrh. However, few of us are aware that incense, other than being used for liturgical purposes and home fragrance, has some interesting and unique pharmacological properties. Incense consists of a resin obtained from the boswellia tree. Once collected and crystallized, the resin releases a strong and penetrating fragrance when burned.The resin of the Boswellia serrata gum is considered a real treasure in the traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda, but other species of Boswellia have also been used for 5,000 years for various purposes by the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans and many other people. Boswellia is often associated with religious ceremonies and meditation: a mural in the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut shows that boswellia resin was used by the Egyptians during embalming.