Epilepsies affect 1% of the population and include a variety of syndromes which have in common recurrent seizures [1]. Despite the availability of over 25 anti-seizure drugs (ASDs), 30% of epilepsy patients do not respond to or have serious side effects with current treatments. Moreover, 60% of people with epilepsy living in low- and middle-income countries have no access to ASDs and consequently rely on medicinal plants. Frankincense, the resin of Boswellia trees, is traditionally used for its relaxant properties in Middle East and India and has demonstrated anticonvulsant activity in a rat epilepsy model [2]. We recently used a zebrafish epilepsy model with seizures induced by the GABAA antagonist pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) [3] to monitor the isolation of anticonvulsant principles by bioassay-guided fractionation. The most active compound isolated, β-boswellic acid ( βBA), reduced up to 70% of PTZ-induced seizure activity. Additionally, the comparison of six isolated boswellic acids revealed a specific structure-activity relationship, with bioactivity found only for βBA. In preparation for a future clinical trial, a mouse seizure model is being used to validate the zebrafish results and to compare the anticonvulsant activity of the pure βBA and a formulated extract of Boswellia serrata. This work reports for the first time the in vivo anticonvulsant activity of an isolated compound from Boswellia sacra, highlighting its potential to be developed as a novel ASD, and also the potential of frankincense as a botanical treatment for epilepsy.
[1] WHO (2018) Epilepsy Fact Sheet No. 999, World Health Organization (WHO)
[2] Ziyaurrahman AR, Patel J. Der Pharmacia Lettre 2012; 4(4):1308-1326
[3] Challal S, Buenafe OEM, Queiroz EF, Maljevic S, Marcourt L, Bock M, Kloeti W, Dayrit FM, Wolfender JL, Crawford AD, et al. ACS Chem Neurosci 2015; 15: 993 - 1004