Boswellia

Sciatica pain is most often driven by inflammation around a compressed or irritated lumbar nerve root. Boswellia’s major acids—especially AKBA (acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid)—down-regulate inflammatory pathways that are active around irritated nerve roots:

• 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) inhibition → ↓ leukotrienes (potent inflammatory mediators); AKBA can allosterically modulate 5-LOX and shift away from pro-inflammatory products. pharmadvances.com
• NF-κB and COX-2 suppression, lowering downstream cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6. SpringerLink
• Potential neurorepair/neuroinflammation effects (preclinical): AKBA promoted repair after rat sciatic nerve injury; Boswellia+curcumin reduced neuropathy and improved sciatic nerve histology in a chemotherapy model. These are animal/bench data, not human sciatica trials, but they support a biologically plausible mechanism. ScienceDirect

Mechanistically, Boswellia can reduce the inflammatory milieu that aggravates radicular pain. That said, sciatica is neuropathic/inflammatory and often structural; supplements may help symptoms but won’t correct a herniated disc or stenosis.

There is no sciatica-specific dosing guideline. Clinicians extrapolate from musculoskeletal pain and osteoarthritis trials. Common, studied options:

Standardized Boswellia extract (often 30–65% boswellic acids):

• 300–500 mg, 2–3×/day with food for at least 4–8 weeks to assess benefit. Onset is typically after 2–4 weeks of continuous use. (General clinical summaries.) RxList

AKBA-enriched extracts used in research:

• 5-Loxin® (≈30% AKBA): 100 mg/day (some products split 50 mg twice daily). Pure Encapsulations Pro+1
• Aflapin® / ApresFLEX® (AKBA-enriched, enhanced absorption): 100 mg/day in trials for joint pain. RxList+1

Combination formulas sometimes studied for low back pain (not sciatica-only):

• Boswellia + turmeric (curcumin) showed benefit in acute and chronic low back pain RCTs (see “Evidence” section below); typical product doses deliver ~100 mg Boswellia extract plus curcumin per dose, following the label for 2–4 weeks. SAGE Journals

Tips for use

• Choose a product standardized to boswellic acids/AKBA from a brand with third-party testing (USP, NSF, or Informed Choice). General safety overviews: NCCIH, Drugs.com. NCCIH
• Take with meals to reduce GI upset. If you’re also using NSAIDs, introduce Boswellia cautiously and monitor for additive GI effects. (See Warnings.) ScienceDirect
• Reassess at 8 weeks; if ineffective, discontinue and focus on guideline-backed sciatica care (physio-led exercise, activity modification, and evaluation for red flags). Evidence-based sciatica guidelines do not currently recommend Boswellia as standard care. MDPI

Direct sciatica evidence

• Preclinical/animal data only (AKBA and combined Boswellia-curcumin improving sciatic nerve injury/neuropathy markers). Helpful mechanistic support, but not human sciatica data. ScienceDirect

Low back pain (not necessarily radicular)

• Acute low back pain RCT: A turmeric–Boswellia formulation significantly reduced pain vs placebo after a single 1,000-mg dose and over short follow-up. (Small, industry-linked; not specific to radicular pain.) SAGE Journals
• Chronic low back pain RCT: A Boswellia+curcumin combo (CL20192) improved pain and function vs placebo over 8 weeks. (Combo product; CLBP may include mixed phenotypes.) ScienceDirect

Other musculoskeletal conditions (context for dosing/safety)

• Multiple RCTs and meta-analyses in osteoarthritis show modest pain/function benefits with Boswellia or AKBA-enriched extracts (5-Loxin®, Aflapin®). These establish analgesic/anti-inflammatory potential and typical dosing, but do not prove efficacy for sciatica. Examine

Emerging/adjacent evidence

• New RCTs in spondyloarthropathy and exercise-induced soreness show anti-inflammatory and symptom benefits; again, not sciatica-specific. Frontiers