β-Boswellic acid is a pentacyclic triterpene originally isolated from Boswellia that has diverse bioactivities.1 It inhibits 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) with an IC50 value of approximately 5 ?M but is less potent than its derivative 3-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid .2 It inhibits cell proliferation in HL-60 cells with IC50 values of 3.7, 7.1, and 6.3 ?M for DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis, respectively.3 In human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) transiently deprived of oxygen and glucose, β-boswellic acid increases nitric oxide and increases phosphorylation of enzyme nitric oxide synthase (eNOS).4 It also increases calcium mobilization in platelets at concentrations ≥3 ?M and induces platelet aggregation (EC50 = 8 ?M).5
1.Ammon, H.P., Safayhi, H., Mack, T., et al.Mechanism of antiinflammatory actions of curcumine and boswellic acidsJ. Ethnopharmacol.38(2-3)113-119(1993) 2.Safayhi, H., Mack, T., Sabieraj, J., et al.Boswellic acids: Novel, specific, nonredox inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenaseJ. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther.261(3)1143-1146(1992) 3.Shao, Y., Ho, C.-T., Chin, C.-K., et al.Inhibitory activity of boswellic acids from Boswellia serrata against human leukemia HL-60 cells in culturePlanta Med.64(4)328-331(1998) 4.Wang, M., Chen, M., Ding, Y., et al.Pretreatment with β-boswellic acid improves blood stasis induced endothelial dysfunction: Role of eNOS activationSci. Rep.5:15357(2015) 5.Siemoneit, U., Tausch, L., Poeckel, D., et al.Defined structure-activity relationships of boswellic acids determine modulation of Ca2+ mobilization and aggregation of human platelets by Boswellia serrata extractsPlanta Med.83(12-13)1020-1027(2017)