Frankincense vinegar-processing improves the absorption of boswellic acids by regulating bile acid metabolism

The journey of boswellic acids from synthesis to pharmacological activities

“…Many studies revealed that vinegar-processed frankincense shows higher bioavailability and higher therapeutic effects than raw frankincense (Pan et al 2015 ), due to an increased absorption as the vinegar processing of frankincense can cause changes in its physical characteristics, in addition to the acidic character and the heating procedure of vinegar processing increasing the dissolution of alkaline composition in water decoction and cause structural changes in chemical composition (Yin et al 2017 ). Recently, the effects of raw frankincense and vinegar-processed frankincense in treating ulcerative colitis were compared which results in the vinegar processing of frankincense improving absorption of its BAs contents as well as its activity through regulating bile acid metabolism mechanism (Peng et al 2022 ).…”

“…Additionally, some Boswellia extracts are used for the treatment of collagenous colitis (Madisch et al 2007 ), ulcerative colitis (Gupta et al 1997 , Peng et al 2022 ), chronic colitis (Gupta et al 2001 ), Crohn’s disease (Alam et al 2012 , Hartmann et al 2014 ), chronic cluster headache (Lampl et al 2012 ), hepatitis (Safayhi et al 1991 ), asthma (Poeckel and Werz 2006 ), pulmonary fibrosis (Ali and Mansour 2011 ), skin infections, psoriasis, eczema (Togni et al 2014 ), and for skin whitening and in reducing wrinkle (Al-Harrasi et al 2014 ), intelligence improvement, and enhancement of memory and immune response (Farshchi et al 2010 , Gupta et al 2011 ).…”

The Effect of Lithocholic Acid on the Gut-Liver Axis

“…The production of LCA is mainly attributed to 7α-dehydroxylase-producing bacteria such as Clostridium and Eubacterium in human, while in rodents, LCA can also be produced by UDCA through 7β-dehydroxylase ( Fiorucci et al, 2018 ). Furthermore, a Chinese medicinal herb, vinegar frankincense is reported to activate the BSH activity and LCA production, thus promote the conjugation of BAs in the liver ( Peng et al, 2022 ) ( Figure 1 ). Therefore, the cellular cholesterol, primary BA excretion, as well as the structure of gut microbiota conjointly determine the production of LCA in the gut.…”

“…A recent study found that frankincense made with vinegar increases LCA level, activates constitutional androstane receptor and PXR, and upregulates the expression of drug absorption-associated protein in the liver, such as multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2) and organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B3 (OATP1B3). Meanwhile, LCA activates PXR expression in the colon, which also promotes the expression of MRP2 and OATP1B3, thus facilitating drug absorption ( Peng et al, 2022 ).…”