Burning incense isn’t just to cover up the scent of cannabis anymore…
The FASEB Scientific Journal announced today that Incense Is Psychoactive: Scientists Identify The Biology Behind The Ceremony. A research team of 15 brains from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem studied the burning of the resin from the plant Boswellia (aka frankincense) and the psychoactive results from the scent and have found that the scent helps to cure depression or anxiety. This could create a whole new class of anti-depressants!
The co-author Raphael Mechoulam says, “We found that incensole acetate, a Boswellia resin constituent, when tested in mice lowers anxiety and causes antidepressive-like behavior. Apparently, most present day worshipers assume that incense burning has only a symbolic meaning.
“Perhaps Marx wasn’t too wrong when he called religion the opium of the people: morphine comes from poppies, cannabinoids from marijuana, and LSD from mushrooms; each of these has been used in one or another religious ceremony.” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. “Studies of how those psychoactive drugs work have helped us understand modern neurobiology. The discovery of how incensole acetate, purified from frankincense, works on specific targets in the brain should also help us understand diseases of the nervous system. This study also provides a biological explanation for millennia-old spiritual practices that have persisted across time, distance, culture, language, and religion-burning incense really does make you feel warm and tingly all over!”
2 responses so far ↓
1 chris // May 21, 2008 at 3:52 am
very interesting. It sounds like Incense would be a healthy alternative to taking drugs for depression etc. thanks for the info
2 Angel // May 22, 2008 at 2:27 am
Sounds a bit strange but really progressive.
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