In patients diagnosed with moderate COVID-19, treatment with Boswellia extract formulation led to a decrease in hospital stay, mitigation of SARS-COV-2 clinical symptoms, and reduction in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

A randomized, phase II, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was carried out to explore the effect of Boswellia extract formulation on the immune system of people with moderate COVID-19.

The study included 47 hospitalized people having moderate COVID-19. Participants were given either Boswellia extract formulation (enriched with boswellic acids, n=24) or placebo (n=23). The clinical symptoms and markers of inflammation were assessed at baseline and trial completion.

In this study, a rise in the percentage of oxygen saturation level was noted in people that received  Boswellia extract formulation in comparison with placebo. The Boswellia extract group exhibited a substantial decrease in the average duration of hospitalization, a rise in the percentage of lymphocytes, and some improvement in clinical symptoms including gustatory dysfunction, headache, myalgia, cough, dyspnea, and olfactory dysfunction.

The hematologic findings indicated a substantial drop in the percentage of neutrophils and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) levels in the Boswellia extract group. Furthermore, a considerable drop in C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels was reported in the Boswellia extract group. After the intervention, fewer people in the Boswellia extract group were polymerase chain reaction-positive for COVID-19 in comparison with placebo. However, this was not statistically significant.

Hence, this study supported the benefit of Boswellia extract formulation enriched with boswellic acids as a supportive treatment leading to shorter hospitalization, and mitigation of few clinical symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers linked with coronavirus disease.