mastic (plant resin)

Chios mastic gum has been used as a traditional medicine over the last 2,500 years.{{Cite journal |title=In Vitro and In Vivo Activities of Chios Mastic Gum Extracts and Constituents against Helicobacter pylori |journal=Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy |last1=Paraschos |first1=Sotirios |date=2007-02-01 |issue=2 |volume=51 |last2=Magiatis |first2=Prokopios |doi=10.1128/aac.00642-06 |pmid= 17116667 |at=(Introductory section) |language=en |last3=Mitakou |first3=Sofia |last4=Petraki |first4=Kalliopi |last5=Kalliaropoulos |first5=Antonios |last6=Maragkoudakis |first6=Petros |last7=Mentis |first7=Andreas |last8=Sgouras |first8=Dionyssios |last9=Skaltsounis |first9=Alexios-Leandros |doi-access=free|pmc=1797732 }}{{better source needed|reason=historicity is not this paper's main subject, and its claim lacks inline citation|date=May 2024}} The word mastic is derived indirectly from {{langx|grc|μαστίχη||mastic}}, which may be related to {{langx|grc|μασᾶσθαι||chew|link=no}}.{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Mastic|date=1933|encyclopedia=The Oxford English Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.147248/page/n754/mode/1up|volume=VI: L–M|page=219|language=en}}

• Remarks not in the book: OED does not claim {{langx|grc|μαστίχη||mastic}} came from {{langx|grc|μαστιχᾶν||gnash the teeth}}, it only refers ("cf.") to the latter word for comparison. The first mention of actual mastic 'tears' was by Hippocrates. Hippocrates used mastic for the prevention of digestive problems, colds and as a breath freshener.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} Romans used mastic along with honey, pepper, and egg in the spiced wine conditum paradoxum.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} Under the Byzantine Empire, the mastic trade became the Emperor's monopoly. In the Ottoman Empire, the Sultan gathered the finest mastic crop to send to his harem.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

During the Ottoman rule of Chios, mastic was worth its weight in gold. {{lang|tr|Sakız Adası}}, the Turkish name for the island of Chios, means 'gum island'. The mastic villages are fortress-like, out of sight from the sea, surrounded by high walls and with no doors at street level (meaning that the villages were entered only by ladders), in order to protect the sap from invaders.{{huh?|date=March 2025}}{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Although the liqueur is much younger, it is still tied up with Greek history.{{how?|date=March 2025}} Digestive liqueurs, similar to Mastichato (Mastika), but made with grapes, were known as Greek elixirs before the French Revolution.{{clarification needed|date=March 2025}}{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

The production of mastic was threatened by the Chios forest fire that destroyed some mastic groves in August 2012.

Producing the mastic resin is a whole-year process for the local growers. The harvest is known as kentos and takes place from the beginning of July to the beginning of October. First, the area around the trees is cleared and sprinkled with inert calcium carbonate. Then, every 4–5 days, 5–10 incisions are made in the bark of each tree to release the resin. As these clear drops hang from the tree, and sparkle in the sunlight, they are said to resemble crystalline teardrops; for this reason, the mastic resin is known as the "tears of Chios". It takes about 15–20 days for the first resin crystals to harden and fall to the ground. The farmers then collect the pieces of dry mastic and wash them in natural spring water, and spend most of the winter cleaning and separating the tears from the sand. This cleaning process is performed by hand and is regulated by the legislative framework of the Mastic Growers' Association. In addition to mastic, mastic oil is also produced.

{{main|Mastichochoria}}

File:Gotaq.jpg

{{as of|2024}} there are twenty-four mastichochoria, or mastic villages, on the island of Chios dedicated to the cultivation and production of mastic.{{Cite web |title=Mastiha Villages Information |url=https://www.gummastic.gr/en/mastihavillages/information |url-status=live |access-date=25 October 2024 |website=The Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222073428/https://www.gummastic.gr/en/mastihavillages/information |archive-date=2024-02-22}} The designation "Masticha Chiou" ("Khios mastic") is protected by a European Union protected designation of origin (PDO).{{Cite web |title=Μαστίχα Χίου / Masticha Chiou PDO-GR-1558 |url=https://www.tmdn.org/giview/gi/EUGI00000013337 |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=GIview (Geographical indications registers) |publisher=European Union Intellectual Property Office}}

• [https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eambrosia-api/api/v1/attachments/72646 Application for registration (EL_0017_1558_SUM_EN.pdf)] "3. Name of product: Khios mastic"

File:Μαστίχα.jpg

The island's mastic production is controlled by a co-operative. Founded in 1938, the Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association ({{langx|el|Ένωση Μαστιχοπαραγωγών Χίου}}), abbreviated CGMGA, is a secondary cooperative organisation and acts as the collective representative organ of twenty primary cooperatives founded in the twenty-four mastic villages.{{cite book|title=Mastiha Island|last=Belles|first=Christos|date=2005|publisher=Ellinika Gramatta Press|isbn=978-960-89048-9-7|location=Athens|pages=212–13}} it has the exclusive management of natural Chios Mastiha in Greece and abroad.{{Cite web |title=The Entity |url=https://www.gummastic.gr/en/company/entity |url-status=live |access-date=25 October 2024 |website=The Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222072856/https://www.gummastic.gr/en/company/entity |archive-date=2024-02-22}}{{Primary source inline|date=October 2024}} The Chios Mastic Museum offers a permanent exhibition about mastic production on the island, explaining its history and cultivation techniques as well as demonstrating its different uses today.{{cite web|url=http://www.piop.gr/en/diktuo-mouseiwn/Mouseio-Mastixas-Xiou/to-mouseio.aspx|title=The Chios Mastiha Museum|access-date=2016-06-21|archive-date=2016-06-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618101327/http://www.piop.gr/en/diktuo-mouseiwn/Mouseio-Mastixas-Xiou/to-mouseio.aspx|url-status=dead}}

Traditionally there has also been limited production of mastic on the Çeşme peninsula, on the Turkish coast eight nautical miles from Chios, with similar ecological conditions suitable for mastic production.{{cite web|author=Gönderen Burçin ÇOKUYSAL |url=http://burcincokuysal.blogspot.com/2010/01/ecologic-evaluation-of-pistacia.html |title=ECOLOGIC EVALUATION OF Pistacia lentiscus (MASTIC) IN ÇEŞME PENINSULA |publisher=Burcincokuysal.blogspot.com |date=1923-03-20 |access-date=2013-06-18}} The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats (TEMA) has led an effort to protect the native Turkish mastic trees and to plant new ones in the Çeşme peninsula to revive viable commercial production of the product. As part of this project, which was expected to last through 2016, over 3,000 mastic tree saplings were planted between 2008 and October 2011 to over 368 acres (149 hectares) of dedicated farm land provided by the Izmir Institute of Technology.{{cite web|author=TEMA Foundation|url=http://www.tema.org.tr/web_14966-2_1/entitialfocus.aspx?primary_id=501&type=2&target=categorial1&detail=single&sp_table=&sp_primary=&sp_table_extra=&openfrom=sortial|title=Sakız Ağaçlarına Sevgi Aşılıyoruz Projesi'nde yeni bir dönem başlıyor|access-date=2014-06-06|archive-date=2014-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714173441/http://www.tema.org.tr/web_14966-2_1/entitialfocus.aspx?primary_id=501&type=2&target=categorial1&detail=single&sp_table=&sp_primary=&sp_table_extra=&openfrom=sortial|url-status=dead}}

File:Food_with_mastic.jpg

In the Eastern Mediterranean, mastic is commonly used in brioches, ice cream, and other desserts.{{cite web |last=co. |first=Benetos John – Galatoulas George |title=Chios Mastic gum information. |url=http://www.mastic.gr/contents/en-us/d13_mastic_gum_mastiha_info_mastixa.html |website=www.mastic.gr|date=21 March 2018 }} In Syria and Palestine, mastic is added to booza (Levantine ice cream), and in Turkey, mastic is widely used in desserts such as Turkish delight and dondurma, in puddings such as sütlaç, salep, tavuk göğsü, mamelika, and in soft drinks. Mastic syrup is added to Turkish coffee on the Aegean coast. In Greece, mastic is used in liqueurs such as Mastika (or Mastichato), in a spoon sweet known as a "submarine" ({{langx|el|υποβρύχιο|ypovríchio}}), in beverages, chewing gum, sweets, desserts, breads and cheese. It is also used to stabilise loukoumi and ice cream.

In the Maghreb, mastic is used mainly in cakes, sweets, and pastries and as a stabilizer in meringue and nougat. In Morocco, mastic is used in the preparation of smoked foods.{{Citation needed|reason=Egypt appears to be the only country using mastic in savoury dishes – see http://www.anissas.com/savoury-mastic/|date=March 2018}}

One of the earliest uses of mastic was as chewing gum. Mastic (מסטיק) is the colloquial Hebrew word for chewing gum.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Some scholars identify the bakha mentioned in the Bible with the mastic plant.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} Bakha appears to be derived from {{langx|he|בכא}}, weeping, and is thought to refer to the "tears" of resin secreted by the mastic plant.

Ancient Jewish halachic sources indicate mastic as a treatment for bad breath: "Mastic is not chewed on Shabbat. When [is it forbidden to chew mastic on Shabbat]? When the intention is medicinal. If it is used for bad breath, it is permissible."{{cite book|title=Tosefta, tractate Shabbat|location=Chapter 13, Mishna 7|url=http://www.mechon-mamre.org/b/f/f21.htm}}

Mastic is an essential ingredient of chrism, the holy oil used for anointing by the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

==== Traditional use ====

Ancient Greek physicians such as Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Galenus, and Theophrastus recommended it for a range of gastrointestinal disorders.

During 15th century, Andrés Laguna, a prominent Spanish physician and botanist, utilized mastic gum to treat pyorrhea and advocated its use in dental care formulations, including infusions and concoctions for toothpaste and breath fresheners. He also recommended the use of the tree's twigs as toothpicks.

Beyond its oral health applications, mastic gum was applied as a beauty enhancer for the skin and used to alleviate menstrual discomfort. It was also utilized to mask the unpleasant odors associated with chronic mercury exposure.{{cite journal |last1=Alwadi |first1=Maram Ali M. |last2=Sidhu |first2=Amrita |last3=Khaled |first3=Méghit Boumédiène |last4=Aboul-Enein |first4=Basil H. |title=Mastic (Pistacia lentiscus) gum and oral health: a state-of-the-art review of the literature |journal=Journal of Natural Medicines |date=June 2023 |volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=430–445 |doi=10.1007/s11418-023-01704-y |pmid=37147480 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11418-023-01704-y |access-date=3 May 2024}}

In February 2016, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published the final assessment of Pistacia lentiscus L. resin. The EMA concluded that the available clinical studies, though numerous, were too small and methodologically weak to support a "well-established use" designation for mastic resin. These studies primarily investigated its oral (as a sole agent) and cutaneous applications (in combination with other products). Despite these shortcomings, the EMA found that these studies did not raise any significant safety concerns, thus supporting the traditional use of mastic. The assessment highlighted that mastic has been part of traditional and folk medicine for more than 30 years in several countries such as Iraq, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and particularly, within the European Union, in Greece. Considering this long-standing use, the EMA deemed the requirements for traditional medicinal products according to Directive 2001/83/EC to be fulfilled for the medicinal use of powdered mastic. The EMA reports also note the antimicrobial activity of mastic in non-clinical in vitro studies and its particular effectiveness against Helicobacter pylori.

Based on these findings, the EMA approved the use of powdered mastic as a traditional herbal medicinal product for two indications:

1. treatment of mild dyspeptic disorders in adults and the elderly
2. for the symptomatic treatment of minor skin inflammations and aid in healing minor wounds

The agency stipulated that due to the lack of sufficient data, the use of mastic in children, during pregnancy, and lactation is not recommended.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/herbal/mastic |title=Mastic – herbal medicinal product |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=European Medicines Agency |date=28 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130185703/https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/herbal/mastic |archive-date=2023-11-30 |url-status=live |at=Final documents – First version}}

Mastic is used in some varnishes. Mastic varnish was used to protect and preserve photographic negatives.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/photographicnega00burbiala |quote=mastic. |title=The Photographic Negative |publisher=Scovill Manufacturing Company |author=William Henry Burbank |year=1888 |page=[https://archive.org/details/photographicnega00burbiala/page/128 128]}} Mastic is also used in perfumes, cosmetics, soap, body oils, and body lotion. In ancient Egypt, mastic was used in embalming. In its hardened form, mastic can be used, like frankincense or Boswellia resin, to produce incense.

• Gum arabic
• Mastika (liqueur with mastic aroma)
• Megilp (art medium)

{{Reflist}}

{{Wiktionary|mastic}}

{{Commons category|Mastic (plant resin)}}

• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Mastic|short=x}}
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/opinion/mastic-greek-medicine-chios.html "Can This Ancient Greek Medicine Cure Humanity?"]—Opinion piece in The New York Times

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