Chios Mastic Gum (CMG) and Oil (CMO) are two unique products of the tree Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia, cultivated exclusively on Greek island Chios. In present study, method proposed by European Pharmacopoeia for mastic identification was employed using HPTLC together with an in-house method. A GC-MS methodology also developed chemical characterization CMOs. α-Pinene β-myrcene were found in abu...

BACKGROUND Essential oils from the aerial parts (leaves, twigs and berries) of Pistacia lentiscus (PLEO) have been well characterized for their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties; however, poor information exists on their potential anticancer activity. METHODS Increasing concentrations of PLEO (0.01-0.1% v/v, 80-800 μg/ml) were administered to a wide variety of cultured cancer cel...

Mastic oil from Pistacia lentiscus variation chia, a natural combination of bioactive terpenes, has been shown to exert anti-tumor growth effects against a broad spectrum of cancers including mouse Lewis lung adenocarcinomas (LLC). However, no studies have addressed its anti-metastatic actions. In this study, we showed that treatment of LLC cells with mastic oil within a range of non-toxic conc...

Drug delivery across the skin is used for several millennia to ease gastrointestinal (GI) ailments in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM). TPM topical remedies are generally being applied on the stomach, lower abdomen, lower back and liver to alleviate GI illnesses such as dyspepsia, gastritis, GI ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal worms and infections. The aim of the present study i...

Kidney stones are one of the oldest known and common diseases in the urinary tract system. Various human studies have suggested that diets with a higher intake of vegetables and fruits play a role in the prevention of kidney stones. In this review, we have provided an overview of these dietary plants, their main chemical constituents, and their possible mechanisms of action. Camellia sinensis (...

Many anticancer drugs exert their cytotoxicity by inhibiting DNA synthesis and cell replication. However, side effects such as bone marrow suppression, gastrointestinal toxicity, and renal damage remain to be addressed (Peterson et al., 1992). One avenue to developing clinically applicable chemotherapeutic agents with fewer complications is to screen traditional medicinal plants, which have bee...

The current study was undertaken to assess safety of Pistacia lentiscus fruits fatty oil (PLFO) as a topical traditional remedy. A primary skin and eye irritation tests were conducted with New Zealand white rabbits to determine the potential for PLFO to produce irritation from a single application. In addition, a sub acute dermal toxicity study was performed on 18 NZW rabbits to evaluate possib...