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Frankincense was one of the three talent bring in to the babyJesusby the three wise adult male , according to the Gospel of Matthew . But what , exactly , is this Christmastime centre ?
gum olibanum is the dried muggins of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in theBoswelliagenus . " There are about 50 mintage of these Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , " saidAhmed Ali , an honorary research beau at the University of Cardiff in the U.K. " Many of them grow in the Horn of Africa ; one species grows in the Middle East , and another in India . " When dried , the sap is burned as incense and thought to have several medicinal properties .
Frankincense is dried chunks of sap fromBoswelliatrees.
To assemble frankincense , producers deflate the tree using a traditional chisel - like tool , after which a milky white sap leeches out of the hole , forming " tears . " This tapping outgrowth is repeated multiple times at several points throughout the yr , depending on the region . After the petrous cakehole are gather , they are put out to dry .
About 2,000 years ago , frankincense was principally lever for its use in religious ceremonies as incense , as most varieties have a woody , musky scent thanks to a mathematical group of chemicals in the resin call terpenes . At the clip , thousands of tons were shipped from Africa around the Mediterranean , to India , and even as far asChina , make frankincense one of the most lucrative commodities .
" Back then , Somali frankincense — Boswellia frereana — was the variety that was most deal , " Ali say Live Science . " In Arabic , it ’s called Asli , which stand for ' the original ' or ' the first , ' and it ’s thought to be the one that was presented to Jesus . "
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Each of the gifts the three wise humans bestow to the birth of Jesus is believed to have a symbolic import , the Bishop of St Asaph , the correct Reverend Gregory Cameron , told the BBC . Gold represents Christ ’s role as Martin Luther King Jr. ; frankincense symbolizes god ; and myrrh , a sap - similar resin that was used in embalming ; represents death and link to his role as prophesier .
In addition to its religious symbolism , frankincense has been pick out for its potential health benefits — most notably , anti - inflammatoryproperties — for thousands of eld .
" In Vedic [ ancient Indian ] and Chinese herbal medication , frankincense has been used to mitigate the symptoms ofarthritis , inveterate bronchitis , asthmaandinflammatory gut disease , " Ali allege . " It ’s actually also a very popular wellness accessory in the U.K. , 2nd only to turmeric . You ’ll often find ' turmeric plus boswellia ' or ' Omega oils plus boswellia , ' and that ’s really Indian frankincense — Boswellia serrata . "
The active constituent in most gum olibanum diverseness is a compound called boswellic acid , which is thought to suppress several of the biochemical mental process involved in inflammation and pain in the ass . But Somali gum olibanum is a niggling different , and this is the subject of Ali ’s research . " Somalian frankincense is unique . It does n’t incorporate any boswellic superman . The main compound is a chemical anticipate epilupeol , " he said .
Epilupeol targets a protein called MMp-9 , which is raise in incitive - related diseases . By inhibiting this protein , epilupeol suppresses the eubstance ’s botheration and inflammation response for hundreds of stipulation .
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" So far , in vitro[in a test tube ] we ’ve treatedarthritis , inflammatory intestine disease , multiple induration andmetastatic cancer , " Ali said . Ultimately , Ali go for to develop this promising chemical compound into a drug quick for clinical trials , but in the meantime , he ’s keen to spread the word about the aesculapian benefits of frankincense .
" The two types , Somali and boswellic acid - containing — they ’re not in competition , " he enjoin . " They do work in symbiosis , targeting unlike biochemical marker with different mechanisms of military action , and that ’s really sinewy . "
