For list of essential oil profiles see USES page. These include a profile of FRANKINCENSE essential oil. You can buy frankincense & myrrh cream (boswellia  & commiphora cream) from me online, or by mail order for cheque payment or payment by NOCHEX.

FRANKINCENSE & MYRRH CREAM

Boswellia Serrata & Commiphora Molmol

So that you know what you are buying...

I started making this cream up and listing it as a stock item 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 have started to look at what other suppliers are selling, and I find 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.

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 30.04.08. Page updated 30.04.08

All content on this site COPYRIGHT Paul Boizot 2002-2007 unless otherwise stated, either on the visible webpage or in HTML.

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contact me on: 01904 621510

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