Abstract
For the treatment of diseases, especially chronic diseases, traditional natural drugs have more effective therapeutic advantages because of their multi-target and multi-channel characteristics. Among many traditional natural medicines, resins frankincense and myrrh have been proven to be effective in the treatment of inflammation and cancer. In the West, frankincense and myrrh have been used as incense in religious and cultural ceremonies since ancient times; in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, they are used mainly for the treatment of chronic diseases. The main chemical constituents of frankincense and myrrh are terpenoids and essential oils. Their common pharmacological effects are anti-inflammatory and anticancer. More interestingly, in traditional Chinese medicine, frankincense and myrrh have been combined as drug pairs in the same prescription for thousands of years, and their combination has a better therapeutic effect on diseases than a single drug. After the combination of frankincense and myrrh forms a blend, a series of changes take place in their chemical composition, such as the increase or decrease of the main active ingredients, the disappearance of native chemical components, and the emergence of new chemical components. At the same time, the pharmacological effects of the combination seem magically powerful, such as synergistic anti-inflammation, synergistic anticancer, synergistic analgesic, synergistic antibacterial, synergistic blood-activation, and so on. In this review, we summarize the latest research on the main chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of these two natural resins, along with chemical and pharmacological studies on the combination of the two.
Highlights
In today’s world, cancer and other chronic diseases seriously threaten human health, resulting in an increasing mortality rate year-by-year
In the West, frankincense and myrrh are often used as incense for religious occasions, while in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Indian Ayurvedic medicine, they are used as natural treatments for chronic diseases [11,12,13,14]
By analyzing the inflammatory cytokines, c-jun and c-fos, and the metabolic spectrum and signal transduction pathway expression of inflammatory cytokines, c-jun and c-fos, and the metabolic spectrum and signal of phosphorylation level assessment, it was found that the bioactive components of frankincense and transduction of phosphorylation level assessment, it was found that the bioactive myrrh play anpathway anti-inflammatory role by reducing the phosphorylation forms of all three kinds of components of frankincense and myrrh play an anti-inflammatory role by reducing the Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) (ERK, p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)) and the down-regulation of downstream genes (c-jun and c-fos) [113]
Summary
In today’s world, cancer and other chronic diseases seriously threaten human health, resulting in an increasing mortality rate year-by-year. Natural medicines widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of chronic diseases include frankincense and myrrh [7,8]. In the West, frankincense and myrrh are often used as incense for religious occasions, while in TCM and Indian Ayurvedic medicine, they are used as natural treatments for chronic diseases [11,12,13,14]. In TCM, frankincense and myrrh are both traditional remedies for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis They often appear in the same prescription in the form of drug pairs. Prescription drugs containing frankincense and myrrh in combination have definite curative effects on many chronic diseases, and have been clinically proven. This paper systematically reviews the chemical and pharmacological studies of frankincense, myrrh, and frankincense–myrrh compound in an effort to unravel the mysteries of the synergistic effects of the compound from the point of view of chemistry and pharmacology, in order to provide reference for the further study of frankincense, myrrh, and frankincense–myrrh compound, and to provide a relevant basis for their use in the clinical treatment of diseases
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