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BACKGROUNDChios mastic gum is a resin that has become popular in some food supplements and chewing gums said to help with various stomach ailments. The gum comes from the mastic shrub, which is a member of the pistachio family. While the shrub grows throughout the Mediterranean region, when grown on the Greek island of Chios it has a unique feature. For some unknown reason, when the bark of shrubs grown there is cut, small “tears” of resin flow. The resin is collected, washed and dried in the sun to give an ivory-coloured product.

Mastic gum has been chewed for millennia around the Mediterranean, as reflected in the English verb “mastication”, meaning to chew. Mastic chewing gum was popular in ancient Roman and Jewish times as a breath freshener. The gum is used as a spice in many traditional Greek foods and drinks. However, its medicinal properties have been attracting more attention in recent years.