Anti-tumor and anti-carcinogenic activities of triterpenoid, β-boswellic acid

Boswellin (BE), a methanol extract of the gum resin exudate of Boswellia serrata, contains naturally occurring triterpenoids, β‐boswellic acid and its structural related derivatives, has been used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory and arthritic diseases. Topical application of BE to the backs of mice markedly inhibited 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate (TPA)‐induced increases in skin inflammation, epidermal proliferation, the number of epidermal cell layers, and tumor promotion in 7,12‐dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)‐initiated mice. Feeding 0.2% BE in the diet to CF‐1 mice for 10–24 weeks reduced the accumulation of parametrial fat pad weight under the abdomen, and inhibited azoxymethane (AOM)‐induced formation of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) by 46%. acid, 11‐keto‐β‐boswellic acid or 3‐O‐acetyl‐11‐keto‐β‐boswellic acid (Fig. 1) to human leukemia HL‐60 cell culture inhibited DNA synthesis in HL‐60 cells in a dose‐dependent manner with IC50 values ranging from 0.6 to 7.1 μM. These results indicate that β‐boswellic acid and its derivatives (the major constituents of Boswellin) have anti‐carcinogenic, anti‐tumor, and anti‐hyperlipidemic activities.