Effect of <i>Boswellia</i> species on the metabolic syndrome: A review

Abstract

The metabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic disorders, includes abdominal obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia leading to insulin resistance, development of diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases. For the treatment of metabolic syndrome, traditional herbal medicines such as frankincense or Boswellia species have been used due to their anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-obesity, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, and hypolipidemic properties. Based on the literature, published evidence up to 2020 about the therapeutic effects of Boswellia species on the metabolic disorder among Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar were precisely evaluated by keywords such as obesity, diabetes, hyperglycemia, hypertension, blood pressure, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, frankincense, and Boswellia. According to the results, Boswellia species have beneficial effects to control metabolic syndrome and its related disorders such as hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and its complications. Boswellia species by reducing the resistance to insulin and restoring pancreatic beta cells decrease blood glucose. Also, Boswellia species has antithrombotic and anticoagulant properties that regulate blood pressure. The anti-oxidant properties of Boswellia species modulate the blood lipid profile via reducing TNF-α, IL-1β levels, and increasing the adiponectin level. The therapeutic and protective effects of Boswellia species on metabolic disorders were remarkably confirmed regarding decreasing hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and obesity.