Boswellia serrata, also known as Indian frankincense, is easily among the best researched of the countless herbal supplements filling the textbooks of traditional Chinese and Indian medicine.
The supplement is derived from the gum-resin of the tree’s bark, a 14 foot tall tree which is native to India, Yemen, Somalia, and Ethiopia, and the gum was traditionally burnt at ceremonies to encourage spiritual exaltation.
Firstly, boswellia serrata can soothe joint pain and arthritic pain by up to 40%, and according to studies, quickly. Compounds in the gum inhibit the pro-inflammatory actor 5-lipoxygenase, which controls a vast swathe of chemicals behind pain. Anti-inflammatory drugs also target 5-lipoxygenase; boswellia is a natural alternative.
Boswellia serrata also has promising anti-cancer properties; it doesn’t lead to apoptosis, but may suppress or halt the rate of tumour growth. Research is ongoing. Boswellia serrata may even relieve depression, according to a mouse study. When a compound called incensole acetate was removed from the gum, the benefits vanished, indicating that this is the mood-boosting substance.
But which is the best brand? Hailing from India, the risks of adulteration are high within the boswellia serrata market. This guide will help you to navigate that problem.
None of the brands here contain carrageenan or maltodextrin, and only the cheaper (but trustworthy) Swanson contains magnesium stearate. Always discontinue supplementation if you notice side effects, which can include chest pain, stomach discomfort and skin rashes.
Let’s get started:
One – True Veda
Firstly, True Veda contains a hefty 450mg per capsule, with 60 capsules in the bottle, for a 2 month supply. This dosage is larger than Thorne or Himalaya lower on the list.
Secondly, True Veda may be the most potent of any boswellia supplement. Like many, it’s standardised to guarantee levels of boswellic acid, but this time to 75%, the highest rate among pure products. This standardisation guarantees that the joint-protecting, brain fog clearing, and skin-enriching benefits will be present.
Then there’s the additives list: the only one listed is the plant-based hypromellose capsule, which is completely harmless. True Veda is free from magnesium stearate, corn flour, carrageenan, and maltodextrin.
True Veda is the only boswellia serrata on our list with an official USDA organic certification. While Himalaya does grow their plants organically, True Veda is fully verified at every stage of the manufacturing process. Their UK branch also has Soil Association organic certification.
True Veda tests every single batch for contamination at 3 stages of production, conducted by independent auditors. The supplement is certified under the Good Manufacturing Practises (GMP) code, and the boswellia is the correct subspecies: Boswellia serrata. This company appeared relatively recently in 2015, and has made it their mission to preserve quality at all costs. The only slight downside is a lower capsule count of 60.
True Veda is quite simply an unbeatable boswellia serrata supplement, meeting every requirement.
Amazon link: True Veda Organic Boswellia Extract.
Two – Pure Encapsulations
Pure Encapsulations features 120 capsules, each with 400mg of boswellia serrata extract. That’s slightly inferior to True Veda per serving, but the only additives are cellulose, water, and hypoallergenic plant fibre. The testing is similarly rigorous, with Pure Encapsulations inspected by a third party facility. Pure Encapsulations is free from any magnesium stearate, soy, carrageenan, and maltodextrin.
Pure Encapsulations also features Boswellia serrata, the correct species, and is standardised to 60% boswellic acid. Why is standardised boswellia so common? These special supplements contain the active medicinal compounds in much higher levels. The important compounds are concentrated in the boswellia tree’s resin and include monoterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes, and most importantly, the four boswellic acids, which studies have revealed to be the unique anti-inflammatory components, much like curcumin in turmeric.
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The standardisation rate of Pure Encapsulations is lower than Superior Labs (75%), but that also leaves room for other resinous compounds. Another advantage is the positive reviews; many people noticed the joint calming benefits.
Pure Encapsulations is a pure boswellia serrata supplement with a strong chance of calming your joint pain.
Amazon link: Pure Encapsulations Boswellia Serrata.
Three – Himalaya
A boswellia brand straight out of India, the Ayurvedic heartland, and one which meets almost all requirements. Himalaya comes in a dosage of 250mg per capsule, lower than True Veda, but enough to solve your joint woes. The standardisation rate is equal to Pure Encapsulations at 60%, guaranteeing 150mg of boswellic acid per capsule.
Himalaya is a pure brand, with very few additives: plant based cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, and pregelatinized cellulose, which are all safe. Magnesium stearate is far away. Himalaya is available either in a 2 pack of 30 for 60 capsules, or a jumbo pack of 240, which would last nearly 8 months.
Importantly, Himalaya contains the correct subspecies: Boswellia serrata. There’s 4 main species in the boswellia family. All grow in the Middle East, Africa, and Indian subcontinent, but Boswellia carterii is typically used to make frankincense essential oil, and the tree has clustered leaves and thin, peeling bark. B. serrata is called Indian frankincense and has the all of the medical properties for inflammation which we care about, so never get confused.
Himalaya is one of the most trustworthy supplement companies based in India. They’ve been operating since 1930, when founder Mr. M. Manal spotted a villager feeding Indian snakeroot to his worker elephant by the side of a road, sparking a fascinating with the properties of unexplored herbs. Although Himalaya isn’t certified organic by the USDA, their website states that no pesticides are used on their fields, and independent tests are conducted twice annually to guarantee this. Being organic could also make Himalaya more nutritious, because natural fertilisers with a well balanced nutritional profile will be applied to the fields.
In 2001, Himalaya’s Indian factories were granted a Good Manufacturing Processes (GMP) certification. The was the first ever producer of Ayurvedic medicines in India to receive this trustworthy honour. Today, they remain one of the few to hold it.
Amazon link: Himalaya Boswellia Serrata.
Four – Thorne Research
The subspecies is boswellia serrata as it should be. The additives are completely safe: leucine, microcrystalline cellulose, and hypromellose. Instead of being standardised, this product simply contains whole boswellia serrata extract, so it’s ideal if you’d rather experiment with the untouched plants that Indians have been calming their joints with for thousands of years.
Thorne Research also contains 60 capsules, which is high quality considering that boswellia calmed arthritic pain within 1 week in one study. Generally, I would recommend waiting for 4 weeks, but by their very nature, anti-inflammatory powers show up quite quickly, whether for joint pain or raging pimples. With Thorne Research, you have many weeks to spare.
The only other downside with Thorne Research is its high price. You might think that the Thorne team must be trekking into the remotest villages in rural India while riding on the backs of elephants, and this isn’t so far off, as Thorne is obsessed with choosing the highest quality ingredients possible. Thorne has one of the best reputations around, and if there’s any supplement you’re seeking which we haven’t covered, they’re a company you can automatically trust.
If cost is no barrier, Thorne Research is a prestigious boswellia brand.
Amazon link: Thorne Boswellia Serrata Phytosome.
Five – Superior Labs
Another company which is obsessed with purity, including with their boswellia serrata.
Superior Labs is extracted right from the sappy resin of the tree’s bark, as it should be. Each capsule contains 250mg, but the recommended serving is two daily for 500mg. With 240 capsules per bottle, this provides 120 servings and a 4 month supply, more than enough to test the anti-inflammatory properties. This is one of the largest capsule counts on our list.
Secondly, Superior Labs may have the best bioavailability of any boswellia serrata. Firstly, the standardisation rate is relatively high, with a guaranteed 65% boswellic acid. But another wise inclusion is 7.5mg of piperine per capsule, a black pepper compound which enhances nutrient absorption. The piperine is a unique feature for this list and one which could allow particularly rapid benefits.
The only flaw with Superior Labs is slightly more additives than usual. The list reads: rice concentrate, rice extract, rice hulls, gum arabic, sunflower oil and plant cellulose. However, there’s no magnesium stearate included, nor corn flour or carrageenan.
This is a pure and untouched boswellia serrata supplement, for another common feature is combinations with turmeric. Curcumin is the strongest bioactive compound in turmeric; it reduces inflammation via 5-lipoxygenase similarly to boswellia serrata. The many supplements which combine the two are hoping for a pain reliving double whammy, without any artificial painkillers, and this is a smart combination. This list features no such combinations, but it’s definitely a smart idea.
For now, Superior Labs is excellent for testing the raw boswellia serrata plant.
Amazon link: Superior Labs Boswellia Extract.
Six – Now Foods
Now Foods features 500mg of boswellia serrata resin extract per capsule, with no other active ingredients. The boswellia within is guaranteed to be potent, for it is standardised to a high 65% boswellic acid, the right level to leave room for other resinous compounds.
Now Foods is manufactured in the USA, and each bottle contains 90 capsules of goodness, for a relatively affordable price. The only slight flaw is a longer additives list, but it’s still free from magnesium stearate and its notorious brethren. The additives are MCT oil, bovine gelatin, glycine, water, carob, sunflower lethicin, and beeswax. None of these are deal breakers, but choose a different bottle if you prefer to keep additives to a minimum. For most people, Now Foods’ boswellia serrata is one of the best natural painkillers you could take…
…but what about boswellia’s topical powers? As one would expect from an anti-inflammatory supplement, this herb has a reputation for calming skin rashes.
More interestingly, boswellia serrata has been shown repeatedly to inhibit hyaluronidase, the enzyme which degrades hyaluronic acid in the skin. Studies using a mere 0.5% boswellia serrata skincare cream on women have detected less fine lines, smoother skin, and improved skin elasticity after several weeks. There’s a growing tome of evidence that boswellia serrata improves all manner of skin conditions related to ageing, an unexpected power.
Either way, Now Foods is a perfect supplement for calming aching joints.
Amazon link: Now Foods Boswellia Extract.
Seven – Swanson
Each bottle of Swanson contains 60 capsules, easily enough to see if the benefits manifest. The flipside to the high potency is that Swanson isn’t standardised. The boswellia extract is raw, meaning that the boswellic acids and other compounds will be in their natural ratios. There’s less guarantee of calmer joints, but a different opportunity in taking the complete package, considering that ancient Indian doctors had no access to standardisation.
A disadvantage is that Swanson is the only brand listed to contain magnesium stearate, with the other additives including microcrystalline cellulose, gelatin and silica. A positive point is Swanson’s trustworthy reputation, as in consumer lab tests, they consistently score among the highest for containing exactly what they promise. Swanson is also much cheaper than other members of this list, making it an ideal boswellia serrata for people on a budget.
As per normal, Swanson is extracted from the tree’s sappy resin, from deep inside the tree’s wood. Swanson’s reputation is important, as any Indian herb popular in Ayurvedic medicine is vulnerable to sneaky adulteration. Boswellia serrata supplements on store shelves often feature different boswellia subspecies mixed in, and other herbal extracts altogether, whether intentionally or unintentionally due to corruption further down the supply chain.
Luckily, the situation isn’t as grim compared to guggul gum, another medicinal sappy resin. In fact, boswellia resin is regularly used to dilute the more expensive guggul gum. Nevertheless, you should never blindly buy a boswellia brand with the words “Ayurveda” slapped on in huge letters.
With Swanson, you can rest easy that your boswellia serrata is authentic and powerful.
Amazon link: Swanson Boswellia Serrata.
Conclusion
Your main guidelines for buying boswellia serrata are as follows. Buy a product with at least moderate standardisation. Buy the correct species, B. serrata, and avoid inflammatory additives. Buy a turmeric or herbal combination if you wish, but always inspect the other features first.
Each of these supplements contains only boswellia serrata as the active ingredient. What are my recommended combinations? Turmeric is smart, but also ginger, with its strongly anti-inflammatory gingerols, and resveratrol, which inhibits the pain pathway COX-2. Certain fruits and vegetables are also known to lower COX-2, including onions and sweet potatoes.
The boswellia serrata market is rigged with booby traps, but these can easily be avoided with the slightest knowledge.
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