Muscat – An Omani research team from Sharqiyah University has successfully extracted a nanoemulsion from frankincense oil in a simple and economically viable procedure, which has been found to be highly effective in treating breast and lung cancers.

This path-breaking finding followed a rigorous three-year project funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

The research project was carried out under the supervision of Dr Mohammed Jankeez, senior researcher who formerly led experiments for the project affiliated to Sharqiyah University, and Dr Raya Ahmed al Balushi, associate professor of chemistry and head of Department of Basic and Applied Sciences – the current lead researcher.

Raya informed that the research showed frankincense extract contains various substances, including one having a composition that acts as a natural anti-cancer nanoemulsion.

She added that the nanoemulsion has been tested for toxicity and that the frankincense extract controls the growth of both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant breast and lung cancer cells.

The research included testing the ability of the nanoformulation of the frankincense extract to control spread of malignant tumor cells.

According to Raya, cells treated with the frankincense extract showed 20% to 30% healing of wounds within 24 hours, as against a 60% to 70% spread of the affected area in the same period time, indicating its ability to heal wounds and resist proliferation of malignant cells.