Mastic (Pistacia lentiscus)
What Is Mastic?
Botanists and formularies know Mastic as Pistacia lentiscus, a plant of the Anacardiaceae family, native to the Mediterranean and western Asia. The material in circulation is resin (gum) — a resin, tapped from the living tree. The common name Mastic and the botanical name Pistacia lentiscus refer to the same material, and labels may use either — a detail that matters when related species in the same genus are not interchangeable. In the hand it reads as pine-like, clean, slightly sweet-balsamic — a practical marker of freshness and correct identification.
Historically, Mastic was learned by hand: which stands to harvest, how to dry the resin (gum) without spoiling it, and how much to use. Those observations were recorded generations before its compounds were named. Beyond its practical use it carries cultural associations — chios island mastic used in Greek Orthodox incense and associated with purity and cleansing.
Today most searches for Mastic come from people reading about wound healing, antibacterial, detox and oral health, or checking how it sits alongside a medication they already take. The use most often documented in the literature is Kills H. pylori in clinical trials, followed by heals peptic and duodenal ulcers.
How Does Mastic Work?
Mastic works as a mixture rather than a single isolated compound, and its profile is usually described by the class of constituents present in resin (gum) rather than by one marker molecule.
Traditional practice described Mastic in terms of taste, warmth and preparation rather than molecules — a working vocabulary that predicted which extractions were worth making long before any compound was isolated.
The research base is comparatively solid, with controlled human trials and reviews to draw on, and this profile cites 2 sources. Reported findings centre on Multiple RCTs demonstrate H. Where research exists, it examines Kills H. pylori in clinical trials, heals peptic and duodenal ulcers and anti-inflammatory for IBD symptoms. These are areas of study, not established outcomes, and results differ by preparation and dose.
How the plant is prepared changes what you actually get. Its constituents move readily into fixed oil and alcohol — so a preparation made in another medium will not carry the same fraction of the plant, which is why traditional recipes specify one over another.
The reason Mastic is treated as its own entry rather than a substitute for a related plant is proportion: related species share several of these compound classes, but not in the same ratio or concentration.
Because these constituents are processed by the same pathways that handle many medicines, Mastic is documented as interacting with antibiotics for h. pylori. That is a question of shared metabolism rather than of potency, and it is the main reason the plant is listed in interaction references at all.
Dose, plant part and growing conditions all shift the constituent profile, so two products carrying the name Mastic can differ substantially; this is why reference entries specify resin (gum) and, where they exist, standardisation markers.