A NOVEL COMBINATION THERAPEUTIC APPROACH FOR COVID-19: CAN FRANKINCENSE BOSWELLIC ACID COMPLIMENT ANTIVIRAL THERAPY?

Luay Rashan, Alessandra Marongiu, Giuseppina Sanna, Hidayat Hussain, Muhammed Bishir, Saravana Babu Chidambaram, Musthafa Mohamed Essa, M.Walid Qoronfleh and Rafie Hamidpour*

ABSTRACT

Healthcare systems are extremely undergoing pressure due to the increasing Covid-19 infection rate. There are several ongoing clinical trials to manage Covid-19, and Pharmaceutical companies claimed that a vaccine would be made available as early as Jan-March, 2021. The lack of an effective treatment and rapidly increasing cases, led many countries to focus on herbal medicines as a potential remedy to fight Covid-19. Natural compounds extracted from different plants have gained attention in the recent years for prevention and treatment for a variety of chronic conditions due to their multi-targeted characteristics. Frankincense gum resin is one among the many traditional natural medicines used in treating cancers, inflammation, respiratory and other chronic diseases. This article reviews the potential effects of Boswellia species gum resin, their extracts, and essential oils against several ailments, with a special focus on the Omani frankincense species B. sacra, which is reported to be anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti- asthmatic, analgesic, immune-modulatory, and antiviral. The manuscript also summaried the reports on the effcts of boswellic acid extracts when taken as a supplement on immune system and potential antiviral properties.

Keywords: Covid-19, Boswellic acid, anti-viral, anti-asthma, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory.