Mastic (plant resin)
Digestive liqueurs, similar to Mastichato (Mastika), but made with grapes, were known as Greek elixirs before the French Revolution.
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".
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.
Founded in 1938, the Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association (Greek: 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.
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.
[citation needed] Bakha appears to be derived from Hebrew: בכא, weeping, and is thought to refer to the "tears" of resin secreted by the mastic plant.
Ancient Greek physicians such as Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Galenus, and Theophrastus recommended it for a range of gastrointestinal disorders.
[4] 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.
Beyond its oral health applications, mastic gum was applied as a beauty enhancer for the skin and used to alleviate menstrual discomfort.
[15] 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.
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.
The EMA reports also note the antimicrobial activity of mastic in non-clinical in vitro studies and its particular effectiveness against Helicobacter pylori.
