DOI: 10.36347/sajp

Pages: 168-172

Background: Frankincense is one of the most commonly used natural plant product in Sultanate of Oman. It is an oleogum resin produced by Boswellia sacra, a tree indigenous to the Dhofar region of Oman. Frankincense, known as Luban in Arabic, is commonly and traditionally used for spiritual as well as for therapeutic purposes since ancient time in Arabian Peninsula. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of general Omani population about beneficial uses of frankincense. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted during May - August, 2012. A self designed questionnaire containing 12 close ended questions was administered to 100 randomly selected Omani nationals in Sur region. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS ver 13 software. Results and Discussion: The survey results indicated that there was no significant difference in the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding beneficial uses of Frankincense between male and female participants. Majority of the participants preferred Omani frankincense and 83.4% of them could recognize at least 1 or more than 1 kind of frankincense. In general, most of the respondents were aware of beneficial therapeutic uses of luban, but three fourth of the participants hardly had an idea that incense is considered as potential chemo preventive agent in modern medicine. Similarly, 38.46% of the participants correctly believed that luban is having anti-inflammatory actions, a fact substantiated by scientific evidences and its commercial availability in the pharmaceutical market. More than half of the study population suggested that luban could be used in cosmetic industry because of its aroma and fragrance.