For list of essential oil profiles see USES
page. These include a profile of FRANKINCENSE
(mainly Boswellia Carteri) essential oil. You can buy
frankincense & myrrh cream (boswellia and commiphora
cream) from me online,
or by mail order for cheque
payment or payment by NOCHEX.
FRANKINCENSE & MYRRH CREAM
Boswellia Serrata & Commiphora Molmol
UPDATE August 2008; a
research study hits the mass media -
BBC
News has an article called "Frankincense 'can ease
arthritis'". Another article on the same story, called
"Frankincense for Arthritis", is at
NHS
Choices.
So that you know what you are buying...
I started making this cream up and listing it as a
stock item in 2005, after noticing in my website stats that I
was getting hits from searches for "Boswellia and Commiphora
Cream". So, being an aromatherapist, I made a cream from
Frankincense (Boswellia Carteri) and Myrrh (Commiphora Molmol).
Then as orders came in, I started to look at what
other suppliers are selling, and I found that there is
significant research on some health benefits of boswellic acids;
that the species of frankincense that has been researched in
this regard is Boswellia Serrata (syn. Thurifera); that the
suggestion seems to be that Boswellia Carteri - the most usual
species used in aromatherapy - would contain similar compounds,
but that there is far less research to back this up; that one of
the major suppliers is not from an aromatherapy background and
that their product uses B. Serrata; that this and their myrrh
are in tincture form, not essential oils.
From December 2005, I changed the frankincense
species in my cream to Indian Frankincense (Boswellia Serrata).
If you want a cream with B. Carteri - the species normally sold
as frankincense in the aromatherapy market - then let me know
and I can make it up at the same price.
So my product is similar, but not identical, to
creams you may buy elsewhere - I use essential oils instead of
tinctures. I have not researched enough to know whether to
expect exactly the same effects from essential oils as from
tinctures. I would expect broadly similar effects - though this
may depend on the purpose for which you are using the cream.
Both frankincense and myrrh are well-reputed in aromatherapy for
various skincare purposes, for example, but other uses to which
such creams have been put may be less well attested. Most of my
customers are using the product for arthritis, though of course
I can make no medical recommendations.
Details of some research are at these sites;
Boswellin.com
- fairly technical, includes some research on boswellia as an
anti-inflammatory.
HerbMed
- links to many more pages, with brief summaries. Includes
clinical trials for osteoarthritis, colitis, and Crohn's
disease; but note that some or all of these involve internal use
of B. Serrata preparations, not external application of a cream.
NB Frankincense is also known as Olibanum. There
is much confusion over the botanical naming of different
species. B. Carteri (not Carterii as often stated) is now
classified as synonymous with B. Sacra. B. Serrata is Indian
frankincense and is synonymous with B. Thurifera. It is
sometimes difficult to be sure which species oil has been
distilled from, and it is possible that resins from different
species may get mixed together. See also my profile of FRANKINCENSE
essential oil.
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Paul Boizot. Information revised 02.02.08. Page
updated 13.01.14.
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2002-2014 unless otherwise stated, either on the visible webpage
or in HTML.
My address from 30.04.12 is 14 Holly Bank Grove,
York YO24 4EA, U.K.
contact me on: 01904
621510
info@paulboizot.co.uk
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