Mastaki

Mastaki (Pistacia lentiscus) is a plant resin from the mastic tree found in the Mediterranean. It is also known as Mastic gum and Tears of Chios since it was originally produced on the Greek island of Chios. In India, Mastaki is known as Mastic Gum, Mastagi Roomi and Mastagi Rumi.

In this post, you can find the benefits, side effects, and uses of Mastaki.

What Is Mastaki?

Mastaki (or Mastic gum) is a resin that’s shown to help improve digestion as well as oral and liver health. Research has found it contains antioxidants which are attributed to the many benefits of this resin.

You can chew the gum or take it as part of an Ayurvedic supplement. Applying essential oils with Mastic gum is also a common treatment for some skin problems.

Mastaki Benefits:

• Relieves digestive problems: Studies show Mastaki contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that relieve abdominal discomfort, inflammation, and stomach pain.
• Combats H. pylori bacteria: Taking Mastaki along with an antibiotic helped kill off Helicobacter pylori bacteria that causes ulcers in a study.
• Treats ulcers: The antibacterial, antisecretory, and cytoprotective properties of Mastaki can help combat several ulcer-causing bacteria.
• Relieves IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) symptoms: Research shows taking Mastaki to relieve symptoms of Crohn’s disease with its anti-inflammatory attributes.
• Lowers cholesterol levels: Mastaki is proven to help reduce bad cholesterol levels over eight weeks.
• Lowers blood sugar levels: Mastaki is said to be effective at lowering blood glucose levels, especially in overweight or obese individuals.
• Improves liver health: Mastaki has shown to aid in liver damage prevention and fatty liver because of its hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Prevents cavities: Chewing Mastaki can help reduce levels of bacteria found in saliva which results in fewer cavities.
• Treats allergic asthma symptoms: Mastaki makes use of its anti-inflammatory properties to treat allergic asthma symptoms.

Mastaki Side Effects:

For most people, Mastaki is generally well tolerated and safe. For some, taking high doses may cause an upset stomach, dizziness, or a headache.

We recommend starting with a low dose and working your way up to the full dose. However, if you don’t know the ideal dose to treat your illness, visit an ayurvedic doctor first. Pregnant or breastfeeding mothers should be careful with Mastaki since more research needs to be done first.

You can also take ayurvedic supplements that contain Mastic gum. While these generally have a lower dose of Mastaki than getting the standardized extract powder, they can provide a range of benefits consistently.

Final Word:

Mastaki is an ayurvedic medicinal resin that has many health benefits. You can get the resin or the powdered extract. However, if you have a specific result in mind, consider getting the supplement with Mastic gum. In the case of wellness for men, Herbo 24 Turbo makes good use of Mastaki.

References:

1. Amiri, Maryam, et al. “Cytotoxic Effects of the Ethanol Bane Skin Extract in Human Prostate Cancer Pc3 Cells.” Iranian Journal of Cancer Prevention, vol. 9, no. 2, Feb. 2016. PubMed Central, https://sites.kowsarpub.com/ijcm/articles/4755.html.
2. Biria, Mina, et al. “Effects of Three Mastic Gums on the Number of Mutans Streptococci, Lactobacilli and PH of the Saliva”. Journal of Dentistry (Tehran, Iran), vol. 11, no. 6, Nov. 2014, pp. 672–79.
3. Dabos, K. J., et al. “The Effect of Mastic Gum on Helicobacter Pylori: A Randomized Pilot Study.” Phytomedicine, vol. 17, no. 3, Mar. 2010, pp. 296–99. ScienceDirect, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19879118/.
4. He, Mei-Lan, et al. “Gum Mastic Inhibits the Expression and Function of the Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cancer Cells.” Cancer, vol. 106, no. 12, 2006, pp. 2547–55. Wiley Online Library, https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.21935.
5. Huwez, Farhad U., et al. “Mastic Gum Kills Helicobacter Pylori.” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 339, no. 26, Dec. 1998, pp. 1946–1946. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9874617/.
6. Kartalis, Athanasios, et al. “Effects of Chios Mastic Gum on Cholesterol and Glucose Levels of Healthy Volunteers: A Prospective, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Pilot Study (CHIOS-MASTIHA)”. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, vol. 23, no. 7, May 2016, pp. 722–29. Silverchair, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2047487315603186.
7. Qiao, Jianou, et al. “Mastic Alleviates Allergic Inflammation in Asthmatic Model Mice by Inhibiting Recruitment of Eosinophils”. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 45, no. 1, July 2011, pp. 95–100. atsjournals.org (Atypon), https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1165/rcmb.2010-0212OC.
8. Spyridopoulou, Katerina, et al. “Dietary Mastic Oil Extracted from Pistacia Lentiscus Var. Chia Suppresses Tumor Growth in Experimental Colon Cancer Models.” Scientific Reports, vol. 7, June 2017. PubMed Central, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-03971-8
9. Triantafyllidi, Aikaterini, et al. “Herbal and Plant Therapy in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease”. Annals of Gastroenterology : Quarterly Publication of the Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology, vol. 28, no. 2, 2015, pp. 210–20.
10. Triantafyllou, Angeliki, et al. “Chios Mastic Gum Modulates Serum Biochemical Parameters in a Human Population.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 111, no. 1, Apr. 2007, pp. 43–49. ScienceDirect, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17150319/.