In the news: Boswellia May Help In Osteoarthritis; Low Omega-3 in Women with Dementia

Boswellia Comes Out on Top for Osteoarthritis

Boswellia serrta with its active components boswellic acids, is an aromatic resin extracted from Boswellia trees. It is one of the clinically studied botanicals with anti-inflammatory activity that may positively impact the symptoms of osteoarthritis. (See Staying Healthy, August 2024; www.sbh.com}.

Findings from a newly published review and analysis(1) suggest that Boswellia may be more beneficial for addressing pain and stiffness in knee osteoarthritis than some other commonly used supplements.

Researchers from the University of Canberra, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (Australia), and the Shanghai University of Medicine and its graduate school of Traditional Chinese Medicine teamed up to conduct the analysis of randomized controlled trials published from 2001 through 2024.

The team compared the effectiveness of seven different supplements: vitamin D, Boswellia, egg shell membranes, curcumin, ginger, krill oil and collagen – which were studied in trials lasting from 4 weeks to 36 months.

Effectiveness was evaluated based on WOMAC pain scores and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores. The WOMAC is a comprehensive questionnaire that assesses pain, stiffness and physical function. The VAS is a single-item measure of general pain intensity.

The study reports that only Boswellia showed a significant effect on pain relief when based on WOMAC scores. While the other six supplements showed greater effectiveness compared to placebo, none of them achieved statistical significance.

Looking at VAS scores, it was shown that Boswellia as well as curcumin, collagen and ginger were linked to statistically significant pain reduction.

For knee function, Boswellia, curcumin, krill oil and collagen demonstrated significant improvements. In terms of knee stiffness, only Boswellia was found to offer significant improvement.

As another check, the researchers also used another statistical method (Bayesian) to rank the supplements. The rankings revealed that Boswellia has the highest odds of being the best option for pain relief among the supplements studied. Boswellia also ranked highest for improving knee function and stiffness.

The authors conclude that nutritional supplements, particularly Boswellia, appear to be a useful adjunct in improving knee osteoarthritis symptoms and function. They do, however, call for larger and longer studies noting that the small number of participants in the trials tends to weaken the quality of the evidence.

Women with ALZ Show Low Omega-3 Levels

University researchers from the UK report that women with early Alzheimer’s (ALZ) have significantly lower levels of unsaturated fats such as the omega-3 fatty acids compared to women without the disease(2,3).

The low level of unsaturated fats was linked to worse cognition as well as biomarkers of inflammation and neurodegeneration – the progressive loss of neurons (nerve cells) in the brain and nervous system.

When measuring levels of the same fats in the blood of men, however, the investigators found no difference between men with and without ALZ.

It’s been known for some time that women are more likely than men to be affected by dementia. In the UK, for example, 2 of 3 people with dementia are women.

This study is the first to show differences in fats between men and women with ALZ. The findings could mean that fats have a different role in the development of ALZ based on gender, but a lot more research is needed. According to the authors, the findings do mean that women need to be getting enough omega-3 fats in their diet.

References

1. Zhang Y, et al. Comparative effectiveness of nutritional supplements in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: A network meta-analysis. Nutrients. 17(15):2547, 2025.
2. Wretlind A, et al. Lipid profiling reveals unsaturated lipid reduction in women with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s Dement. 21:e70512, 2025.
3. Omega-3 fatty acids and Alzheimer’s risk: What do the data show? Medscape. August 26, 2025.