Editor: Dr. Mahmoud Suhail

http://www.geographical.co.uk/Magazine/Oman_-_Mar_11.html

 and an article about Frankincense by geographical in August 1895

http://books.google.com/ebooks/reader?id=LVgMAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader  

Frankincense Grading & Classifications

Mar. 2009

 Frankincense Grading and Classification methodology widely differ

anis themselves generally consider Silver to be a better grade than Hojari, most Western connoisseurs think that it should be the other way round. This may be due to climatic conditions with the Hojari smelling best in the relatively cold, damp climate of the Europe and North America, whereas Silver may well be more suited to the hot dry conditions of Arabia. This information, however, is obtained largely from dealers, and there are notable inconsistencies amongst differing sources.

Frankincense Essential oil is the volatile oil that could be extracted from frankincense  resin using different methods;

1-      Hydrodistillation .

2-      Steam distillation (wet & dry).

3-      Solvent extraction.

4-      Centrifugal extraction.

5-      Other combined methods like EHP technique.

Part of our research is to identify the most optimum methods of frankincense oil extraction for medical uses like cancer (the joint research with H.K. in Oklahoma medical Science University), rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, dermatological conditions, and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Other methods (using same principles but with different variables) target cosmetics and perfumes.

Researching variables that influence frankincense essential oil quality is an extremely wide concept due to the diversity of variables ranging from geographical, seasonal, cut level, and harvesting methods to variables related to extraction methods environment and parameters (T, Pr., time, etc).

Frankincense resin extract which is the pressure extract of particular frankincense grades, is another form of medical grade frankincense mostly for inflammatory conditions (rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis), inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis, and asthma.  

Frankincense hydrosol is the ‘’floral water’’ of frankincense distillation. Its medical value is limited (mostly for meditation and as an anxiolytic, still not superior to other forms).

Frankincense resin powder is the powder form of frankincense resin that is simply another physical form of frankincense resin that is applicable for capsule filling and cosmetics industries.

  

 

 

2009 Frankincense Season in Oman

 

Aug. 2009

 

  2009 season of frankincense in Oman was just wonderful. the trees are more productive and we just find out new techniques for harvesting the frankincense with maximum safety and precautions to trees.   We are in the final steps of our first production of the high quality Frankincense Oil of Oman. For this target, a lot of hard work was essential since the oil is so volatile, sensitive, and vary alot in quality from lot to lot according to many parameters that we had to consider including the time of harvesting, waiting intervals till gathering, time of the day during which the collection is performed and even ( but not last ) cuts height from the ground!!!   We had exteded our control to include the preharvest period and the the way of collection of the franincense in addition to extensive modifications in the way of saving.  

 Royal Hougari Oman Frankincense harvested with maximum care including preharvesting measures.

  

 Fresh Oman frankincense harvested in a new way for the purpose of extraction of the highest quality frankincense oil

 

 

 

 Frankincense pressure extract

 

 

 

 Frankincense Resin Powder

Powdered frankincense resin have great medical significance in Ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, Dysmenorrhoea, Asthma, and Arthritis due to (partially) its content of boswellic acids.

 Boswellia sacra frankincense resin distilled at 110C, 100C, 90C respectively from left to right

  Frankincense essential oil distlled at different temperatures and times meant to match the purpose of use. LFEO (light frankincense essential oil) distilled at temperatures less than 90C (preferably 80C) is the best choice for meditation purposes, perfume industries and food addititves. RFEO (regular frankincense essential oil) distilled at 100C is the one used commonly for incense industries and alternative medicine. HFEO (heavy frnkincense essential oil) is distilled at temperatures above 110C for special medical indications.

  Each frankincense essential oil is subclassified into other groups depending on many other geographical, physical, and botanical variables.

 Avicenna (Doctor of Doctors)

 The inventor of distillation and the first who set rules of medical grade distillation 1100 years back

BBC Reports 

                                                                              Jeremy Howell

  *Jeremy has been reporting on business and finanace in the Middle East since 2004.

   Previously, he worked on BBC TV's World Business Report and Business Today in London, and as a television and radio reporter in the South of England.

 The mysterious properties of Frankincense ( BBC )

Monique Simmonds, a biologist and the Deputy Keeper of the Jodrell Laboratory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew tells Anna McNamee about the properties of mysterious frankincense.

Listen to this item;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/ram/2005_50_fri_04.ram

 Frankincense Oil Kills Bladder Cancer Cells

 Hsueh-Kung Lin, PhD

Director of the Regenerative Medicine laboratory, an Associated Professor of Urology, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Physiology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center - USA

 Within a range of concentration, frankincense oil suppressed cell viability in bladder transitional carcinoma J82 cells but not in UROtsa cells. Comprehensive gene expression analysis confirmed that frankincense oil activates genes that are responsible for cell cycle arrest, cell growth suppression, and apoptosis in J82 cells. However, frankincense oil-induced cell death in J82 cells did not result in DNA fragmentation, a hallmark of apoptosis.

 Frankincense oil appears to distinguish cancerous from normal bladder cells and suppress cancer cell viability. Microarray and bioinformatics analysis proposed multiple pathways that can be activated by frankincense oil to induce bladder cancer cell death. Frankincense oil might represent an alternative intravesical agent for bladder cancer treatment.

  http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/9/6/abstract

  http://www.naturalnews.com/025892_cancer_frankincense_bladder.html

  Considerable proportion cancer chemotherapy are of plant origin like paclitaxel, vinblastine and vincristine. 

 Other useful liks;

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/bladder

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16621377

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16946522

http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmccomplementalternmed/

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/neuroblastoma.html

Right to left ; H.K., Sue, and me. 

Right to left; Me, Gary Young, and John. 

Right to left; John and Marc. 

Right to left; H.K., Cole, and me. 

 Arabic Gum High Grade

Arabic Gum In Comparison with similar frankincense resin 

       A: Arabic Gum                                  B: Arabic Gum High Grade 

       C: Frankincense expressed               D: Hougari Regular Frankincense

  Plenty of people confuse between Arabic Gum High grade resin and Hougari regular frankincense. The distinction is simple; Arabic Gum is mostly translucent while Frankincense is opaque!( B and D ).

  Frankincense Season in Dhofar 2010

 Dhofar state in the south of Sultanate of Oman where the finest frankincense on earth harvest, got late onset but heavy raining season (Masoon). This cause frankincense resin of high Hougari grades to regret more distant than previous years away from Salalah (Capital of Dhofar State). This happens when Boswellia sacra trees get much rains specially in coastal area where Sha'abi Grade frankincense resin dminate other grades harvest.

  In such conditions High Grade Hougari frankincense (Hougari Superior and Royal and to a less extent Hougari Regular) harvest areas move toward the dry desert area to the north and sharp celfts to the east.