ArticleBMC complementary and alternative medicine2009
Frankincense oil derived from Boswellia carteri induces tumor cell specific cytotoxicity.
Article in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.
- Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Properties of Frankincense: Implications for Anticancer Therapy.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Synergistic anticancer activity of frankincense aqueous extract with sorafenib in HepG2 cells and its UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS-based metabolomic profiling.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Boswellic Acid Derivatives: A Traditional and Multifunctional Therapeutic Agent for Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases - A Comprehensive Review.Chemistry & biodiversity · 2026Review
- Frankincense oil nanoemulsion induces selective cytotoxicity and over ROS-mediated oxidative stress and apoptotic DNA damage in Hep-G2 hepatic cancer cells.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Anti-Tumor Potential of Frankincense Essential Oil and Its Nano-Formulation in Breast Cancer: An In Vivo and In Vitro Study.Pharmaceutics · 2025Article
- Physio-metabolic response, immune function, epigenetic markers, and reproductive performance of rabbits under environmental stress: the mitigating role of boswellia essential oil nanoemulsion.BMC veterinary research · 2025Article
- Protective Effects of Frankincense Oil on Wound Healing: Downregulating Caspase-3 Expression to Facilitate the Transition from the Inflammatory to Proliferative Phase.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Role of Essential Oils on Sleep Quality and Other Sleep-related Issues: Evidence from Clinical Trials.Mini reviews in medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Phytochemical Analysis and Pharmaceutical Applications of Monoterpenoids Present in the Essential Oil ofAdvances in pharmacological and pharmaceutical sciences · 2025Review
- Synergistic Enhancement of Carboplatin Efficacy through pH-Sensitive Nanoparticles Formulated Using Naturally DerivedPharmaceutics · 2024Article
- An Evaluation of the Impact ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Exploring the Potent Anticancer Activity of Essential Oils and Their Bioactive Compounds: Mechanisms and Prospects for Future Cancer Therapy.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Evaluation of anticancer effects of frankincense on breast cancer stem-like cells.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Essential Oils Extracted fromACS omega · 2023Article
- Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activities ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Phytogenic Substances for Optimizing Gut Health in Poultry.Microorganisms · 2022Review
- Review of the Chemical Composition, Pharmacological Effects, Pharmacokinetics, and Quality Control ofEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Review
- Antibacterial, Immunomodulatory, and Lung Protective Effects ofAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOriginating from Africa, India, and the Middle East, frankincense oil has been important both socially and economically as an ingredient in incense and perfumes for thousands of years. Frankincense oil is prepared from aromatic hardened gum resins obtained by tapping Boswellia trees. One of the main components of frankincense oil is boswellic acid, a component known to have anti-neoplastic properties. The goal of this study was to evaluate frankincense oil for its anti-tumor activity and signaling pathways in bladder cancer cells.
methodsFrankincense oil-induced cell viability was investigated in human bladder cancer J82 cells and immortalized normal bladder urothelial UROtsa cells. Temporal regulation of frankincense oil-activated gene expression in bladder cancer cells was identified by microarray and bioinformatics analysis.
resultsWithin a range of concentration, frankincense oil suppressed cell viability in bladder transitional carcinoma J82 cells but not in UROtsa cells. Comprehensive gene expression analysis confirmed that frankincense oil activates genes that are responsible for cell cycle arrest, cell growth suppression, and apoptosis in J82 cells. However, frankincense oil-induced cell death in J82 cells did not result in DNA fragmentation, a hallmark of apoptosis.
conclusionFrankincense oil appears to distinguish cancerous from normal bladder cells and suppress cancer cell viability. Microarray and bioinformatics analysis proposed multiple pathways that can be activated by frankincense oil to induce bladder cancer cell death. Frankincense oil might represent an alternative intravesical agent for bladder cancer treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.