Things You Might Not Know About Frankincense

Essential Oils Science Update: Things You Might Not Know About Frankincense

For essential oil enthusiasts, nothing defines the holiday season like frankincense. But some look at the different brands and species on the market and ask, “Which of these oils is best?” For Young Living, the answer to this question lay deep in the heart of Arabia, where a select group of people have made understanding this legendary plant their life’s work.

Young Living’s Founder and President, D. Gary Young, has made it his passion and practice to personally inspect the source, cultivation, and preparation of all Young Living essential oils. Gary’s most recent global tour took him once again to Africa and Arabia to examine our current oil preparation and investigate other frankincense suppliers.

Not only do Young Living sourcing experts personally visit partner distilleries worldwide, but they are also in contact with other international experts, like Ahmed Warfa, PhD. Dr. Warfa recently visited our corporate office and took the opportunity to visit with Young Living Sourcing Manager Mary Lou Jacobson and me. Dr. Warfa is a professor of botany and hails from Somalia. Dr. Warfa is the world’s preeminent authority on frankincense and has a decade of field experience studying the growth patterns of various species of frankincense.

I asked Dr. Warfa what he felt are the key elements of quality frankincense oil, and how he would respond to a question regarding Boswellia frereana frankincense reportedly harvested in Oman. According to Dr. Warfa, proper resin identification and distillation are essential for production of therapeutic-grade frankincense oil. Grade 1 Boswellia carteri frankincense resin from Somalia currently sets the world standard for available frankincense, Warfa explains. Other frankincense resins may be comparable—such as those found in Oman—but these resins are scarce and not commercially available. According to Dr. Warfa, Omani frankincense has not been exported out of Oman for more than 50 years. Dr. Warfa also emphasizes that Boswellia frereana is only found in Somalia and has never been cultivated in Oman. Boswellia frereana frankincense does not grow in Oman or in Yemen, explains Dr. Warfa.

Dr. Warfa’s statements correlate directly with Gary Young’s own observations and experience. Gary has toured Oman many times over the last 12 years in search of quality frankincense, most—recently in November to research and inspect locations in Muscat, Salalah, and the RubalKhali. During this recent excursion, Gary was told repeatedly that no one in Oman was distilling or exporting any commercial quantities of Omani frankincense. The collection of “Al hojari” and other grades is principally a sporadic, small-scale endeavor that yields resin for local use and sale.

Dr. Warfa’s insights into frankincense have helped Young Living define our Young Living Therapeutic Grade™ (YLTG) frankincense standard. With nearly 15 years experience sourcing frankincense, Young Living has compiled more than a decade’s worth of Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer analysis data to provide clear support for our YLTG standard. We continually compare our YLTG frankincense with competitor samples and have yet to find another that has the optimal levels of health-enhancing constituents.