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World J Diabetes. Nov 15, 2022; 13(11): 921-925
Published online Nov 15, 2022. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v13.i11.921
Effects of Chios mastic gum on cardiometabolic risk factors
Athanasia K Papazafiropoulou
Athanasia K Papazafiropoulou, The First Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetes Center, Tzaneio General Hospital of Piraeus, Piraeus 18536, Greece
Author contributions: Papazafiropoulou AK contributed to writing the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author reports no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Athanasia K Papazafiropoulou, MD, MSc, PhD, Attending Doctor, Research Scientist, The First Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetes Center, Tzaneio General Hospital of Piraeus, 1 Zanni and Afentouli Street, Piraeus 18536, Greece. pathan@ath.forthnet.gr
Received: July 24, 2022
Peer-review started: July 24, 2022
First decision: September 12, 2022
Revised: September 16, 2022
Accepted: October 11, 2022
Article in press: October 11, 2022
Published online: November 15, 2022
Abstract

Chios mastic gum (CMG), the resin produced by the trunk of Pistachia lentiscus var Chia, has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes since antiquity. Despite the fact that Pistacia species are widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean basin and in the circum-Mediterranean regions, CMG is a distinctive resin of the mastic trees grown exclusively in the southern part of the island of Chios. CMG has been used for centuries as a spice, a cosmetic, but its most important usage has been as a strong phytotherapeutic therapy, primarily for the management of gastrointestinal diseases. Recently, there are studies demonstrating that CMG has hypolipidemic, cardioprotective and antidiabetic properties. Therefore, the aim of the present review is to summarize the existing literature data regarding the potential beneficial effects of CMG on cardio-metabolic risk factors.

Keywords: Chios mastic gum, Glucose, Cardioprotection, Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, Triglycerides

Core tip: Chios mastic gum (CMG), the resin produced by the trunk of Pistachia lentiscus var Chia, has been used for centuries as a strong phytotherapeutic therapy, primarily for the management of gastrointestinal diseases. Recently, there are studies demonstrating that it has hypolipidemic, cardioprotective and antidiabetic properties. Therefore, the aim of the present review is to summarize the existing literature data regarding the potential beneficial effects of CMG on cardiometabolic risk factors.