WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants - travolekar.ru

Gummi Boswellii
Clinical pharmacology
A double-blind pilot study, involving 37 patients with rheumatoid arthritis,
assessed the effects of the crude drug on the symptoms of swelling and
pain, and amount of self-medication with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (41). Patients were treated with 3.6 g of the crude drug or placebo
for 12 weeks. Outcome measures included Ritchie’s index for swelling and
pain, and the dose of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs patients felt
they needed. There were no subjective, clinical or laboratory parameters
showing significant changes from baseline to 12 weeks of treatment (45).
A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study was
conducted to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of a crude
Boswellia serrata extract in 30 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
Fifteen subjects received the active Boswellia serrata extract or placebo
for 8 weeks. After the first treatment, a washout period was permitted and
the groups were then crossed over to receive the opposite intervention for
8 weeks. All patients receiving Boswellia serrata extract reported a decrease
in knee pain, increased knee flexion and increased walking distance.
The frequency of swelling in the knee joint was decreased, but radiology
detected no change. The observed differences between drug treatment
and placebo were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Boswellia serrata extract
was well tolerated by the subjects except for minor gastrointestinal
adverse events (22).
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 40 patients with
bronchial asthma assessed the effects of an extract of the crude drug for
treatment of symptoms. The patients were treated with a preparation of
gum resin of 300 mg three times daily for a period of 6 weeks. After treatment,
70% of patients showed improvement as evident from the disappearance
of physical symptoms and signs such as dyspnoea, bronchial
asthma and decreased number of attacks, as well as a decrease in eosinophil
count and electron spin resonance. In the control group (treated with
lactose, 300.0 mg three times daily, for 6 weeks), only 27% of patients in
the control group showed improvement. The data show a role for the
crude drug in the treatment of bronchial asthma (20).
A randomized, double-blind, controlled, parallel group comparison
clinical trial involving 102 patients assessed the effects of the crude drug
for the treatment of Crohn’s disease (18). The positive control arm was
treated with mesalazine. The primary outcome measure was the change in
the Crohn’s Disease Activity Index between the time of enrolment and
the end of therapy. The Crohn’s Disease Activity Index was reduced by
90 after treatment with the crude drug and by 53 after treatment with
mesalazine; however, the difference between the two treatments was not
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