Résumé
Frankincense, also known as olibanum, is a gum resin collected from trees of the genus Boswellia. The gum resin is produced by trees of various Boswellia species. These plants are middle size trees from Burseraceae family. Commertial olibanum in Iran is obtained from Boswellia carteri and Boswellia serrata that are native of Africa and India, respectively. Boswellic acids [Bas], a group of pentacyclic triterpenic acids are main bioactive principles of the gum resins. Gum olibanum has a long history of use, for example in religious ceremonies and for perfume production. Also it has been traditionally used in the ayurvedic system of medicine as an anticancer, antidiahhroea, memory and learning enhancing. Recently, the investigations demonstrated that gum olibanum has pharmacological properties and clinical effectiveness in various diseases. Present review focuses on pharmacological activities of gum olibanum