An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Plant Boswellia sacra (Burseraceae)

Common Names
Olibanum; Frankincense; Olibanum Tree; Weihrauchbaum (Ger.); Weihrauchpflanze (Ger.); arbol del incensio (Sp.); Oliban (Sp.)
How this plant is used
Generally Recognized as Safe

Select a Results View:

View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
List of plant chemicals.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Chemical Name Activity Count Plant Part Low Parts Per Million High Parts Per Million Standard Deviation Reference
P-CYMENE 16 Resin, Exudate, Sap not available 35300.0 1.00 Chiavari, G., Gtalletti, G. C., Piccaglia, R., Mohamud, M. A. 1991. Differentiation Between Resins Boswellia carterii and Boswellia frereana (Frankincense) of Somali Origin. J. Essent. Oil Res. 3 (3):185-186.
P-MENTHA-1,4-DIEN-8-OL 0 Resin, Exudate, Sap not available not available not available Maupetit, P. 1985. New Constituents in Olibanum Resinoid and Essential Oil. Perfum Flavor 9 6: 19-37.
P-MENTHA-1,5-DIEN-7-OL 0 Essential Oil not available not available not available Lawrence, B.M., Essential Oils 1976-1977, Essential Oils 1978, Essential Oils 1979-1980.
PHELLANDRENE 4 Essential Oil not available not available not available Guenther, E., The Essential Oils, 6 volumes, D. van Nostrand, New York, 1948-1952.
RESIN 0 Latex Exudate 600000.0 700000.0 0.90 Leung, A.Y., Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1980.
SABINENE 5 Essential Oil not available not available not available Lawrence, B.M., Essential Oils 1976-1977, Essential Oils 1978, Essential Oils 1979-1980.
SABINENE 5 Resin Essent. Oil not available 3000.0 not available Abdel Wahab, S. M., Aboutabl, E. A., El-Zalabani, S. M., Fouad, H. A., De Pooter, H. L., El-Fallaha, B. 1987. The Essential Oil of Olibanum. Plant Med. 53 (4): 382-384.
SABINENE 5 Resin, Exudate, Sap not available 94400.0 not available Chiavari, G., Gtalletti, G. C., Piccaglia, R., Mohamud, M. A. 1991. Differentiation Between Resins Boswellia carterii and Boswellia frereana (Frankincense) of Somali Origin. J. Essent. Oil Res. 3 (3):185-186.
SELINA-4,11-DIENE 0 Essential Oil not available not available not available Lawrence, B.M., Essential Oils 1976-1977, Essential Oils 1978, Essential Oils 1979-1980.
SELINA-5,7(11)-DIENE 0 Resin, Exudate, Sap not available not available not available Maupetit, P. 1985. New Constituents in Olibanum Resinoid and Essential Oil. Perfum Flavor 9 6: 19-37.
TERPENES 0 Essential Oil not available 785000.0 not available Guenther, E., The Essential Oils, 6 volumes, D. van Nostrand, New York, 1948-1952.
TERPINEN-4-OL 23 Essential Oil not available not available not available Lawrence, B.M., Essential Oils 1976-1977, Essential Oils 1978, Essential Oils 1979-1980.
TERPINEN-4-OL 23 Resin Essent. Oil not available 2000.0 not available Abdel Wahab, S. M., Aboutabl, E. A., El-Zalabani, S. M., Fouad, H. A., De Pooter, H. L., El-Fallaha, B. 1987. The Essential Oil of Olibanum. Plant Med. 53 (4): 382-384.
TERPINOLENE 9 Essential Oil not available not available not available Lawrence, B.M., Essential Oils 1976-1977, Essential Oils 1978, Essential Oils 1979-1980.
TERPINOLENE 9 Resin Essent. Oil not available 1000.0 not available Abdel Wahab, S. M., Aboutabl, E. A., El-Zalabani, S. M., Fouad, H. A., De Pooter, H. L., El-Fallaha, B. 1987. The Essential Oil of Olibanum. Plant Med. 53 (4): 382-384.
THUJOPSENE 2 Essential Oil not available not available not available Lawrence, B.M., Essential Oils 1976-1977, Essential Oils 1978, Essential Oils 1979-1980.
TRANS-ALPHA-BERGAMOTENE 0 Essential Oil not available not available not available Lawrence, B.M., Essential Oils 1976-1977, Essential Oils 1978, Essential Oils 1979-1980.
TRANS-BETA-OCIMENE 0 Resin Essent. Oil not available 13000.0 not available Abdel Wahab, S. M., Aboutabl, E. A., El-Zalabani, S. M., Fouad, H. A., De Pooter, H. L., El-Fallaha, B. 1987. The Essential Oil of Olibanum. Plant Med. 53 (4): 382-384.
TRANS-PINOCARVEOL 2 Essential Oil not available not available not available Lawrence, B.M., Essential Oils 1976-1977, Essential Oils 1978, Essential Oils 1979-1980.
TRANS-VERBENOL 0 Essential Oil not available not available not available Lawrence, B.M., Essential Oils 1976-1977, Essential Oils 1978, Essential Oils 1979-1980.
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
List of plant activities.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Activity Chemical Count Reference
CNS-Depressant 1 Duke, 1992 *
CNS-Stimulant 2 Duke, 1992 *
CNS-Toxic 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Coleopterifuge 1 Duke, 1992 *
Coleoptophile 1 Duke, 1992 *
Convulsant 1 Zebovitz, T. C. Ed. 1989. Part VII. Flavor and Fragrance Substances, in Keith L. H. and Walters, D.B., eds. Compendium of Safety Data Sheets for Research and Industrial Chemicals. VCH Publishers, New York. 3560-4253.
COX-2-Inhibitor 1 Duke, 1992 *
Culicide 1 Duke, 1992 *
Cytochrome-P450-Inducer 1 Duke, 1992 *
Cytotoxic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Demulcent 1 Duke, 1992 *
Deodorant 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Dermal 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Detoxicant 1 Duke, 1992 *
Differentiator 1 Duke, 1992 *
Diuretic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Emetic 2 Duke, 1992 *
Enterocontractant 1 J. Aromatherapy 4: 22.
Expectorant 6 Duke, 1992 *
FLavor 18 Aloe Research Council - Duke writeup of non-peer reviewd book by Coats and draft by Henry