Boswellia serrata

Boswellia serrata for dogs: what the research shows, and how it compares to turmeric

Boswellia serrata is included as part of Move's inflammation support active ingredients.

Boswellia serrata is safe for dogs at a measured daily amount. It provides boswellic acids, botanical compounds widely studied for their role in inflammatory pathways. In dogs, Boswellia-containing supplements have been evaluated in mobility and osteoarthritis studies, where they were associated with improvements in owner-assessed mobility, joint comfort, and clinical signs. Its role in the formula is to help support comfortable movement by contributing to normal inflammatory balance around the joints.

Boswellia serrata, also called Indian frankincense, has one of the better-developed evidence bases of any joint-support botanical in dogs, with multiple placebo-controlled trials behind it, and it's safe for dogs at the amount used in a daily chew, commonly paired with turmeric rather than used as a substitute for it.

What the canine trials found

Three separate randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have tested boswellia-containing supplements in dogs with osteoarthritis or mobility disorders. One found efficacy on owner-assessed measures, a second looked at long-term effects when paired with Cannabis sativa oil after physiotherapy, and a third, more recent cross-over trial evaluated boswellia alongside undenatured type II collagen for mild to moderate mobility disorders.

Across these trials, the consistent finding is improvement in owner-reported mobility and joint comfort, evaluated using the kind of structured, blinded design that carries more weight than anecdote. That's a meaningfully deeper evidence base than many joint-support botanicals have in dogs specifically, rather than being extrapolated from human or in-vitro research.

How much boswellia is safe for a dog

As with turmeric, the safe amount depends on the extract's concentration of boswellic acids and the dog's size, which is why Broono doesn't leave it to guesswork: Move uses 200 mg of boswellia serrata per serving, in a chew already sized for a dog's daily routine.

If you're considering a boswellia supplement outside a purpose-built product, check the boswellic acid content and the recommended amount with your vet rather than assuming a generic dose applies.

Boswellia vs turmeric: why Move uses both

Boswellia and turmeric are frequently searched as alternatives for the same joint-health goal, since both are botanical anti-inflammatories with dog-specific research behind them. They act through different compounds, boswellic acids versus curcuminoids, which is the reasoning behind combining them rather than treating one as a replacement for the other.

Neither has been shown to be categorically stronger than the other in dogs, so the practical choice made in Move's formulation is to use both at researched amounts alongside ginger, glucosamine, and chondroitin, rather than picking a single botanical to carry joint support on its own.

Safety notes

Boswellia is generally well tolerated at supplement amounts in the trials above, with mild digestive upset the most commonly reported issue. As with any new ingredient, introduce it gradually and check with your vet first if your dog is pregnant, nursing, or on other medication.