Beneficial Health Effects of Chios Gum Mastic and Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors: Indications of Common Mechanisms

Abstract

For thousands of years, Chios Gum Mastic (CGM), the resin produced by the trunk of Pistachia lentiscus var Chia, has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes and several therapeutic properties have been attributed to it. CGM has been used in traditional medicine of various nations in the eastern Mediterranean area. This survey was carried out to identify biological mechanisms that could explain traditional usage and recent pharmacological findings. We reviewed the related scientific literature available from the NCBI PUBMED database on CGM studies and on natural products showing peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist effects. We investigated whether CGM qualifies as a PPAR modulator. A large number of studies demonstrate that CGM has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, and anticancer properties. Recently, the first evidence of CGM antidiabetic effect became known. CGM chemical composition has been extensively analyzed and the presence of several compounds, especially triterpenoids is well documented. Some of them, oleanonic acid, oleanolic acid, and gallic acid are considered to act as PPAR modulators. PPARs are nuclear receptors functioning as transcription factors and thereby controlling cellular functions at the level of gene expression. PPARs are involved in the pathways of significant diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, inflammation, atheromatosis, and neoplasias, constituting a key target for pharmacological interventions. This article proposes that the synergistic action of some constituents of CGM on PPARs and more precisely on both PPARs isotypes-α and -γ, may be one of the major biological mechanisms via which CGM exerts its multiple effects.

Effects of Chios mastic gum and exercise on physical characteristics, blood lipid markers, insulin resistance, and hepatic function in healthy Japanese men

“…This supports the idea that the overall effect of CMG on lipid metabolism is mediated via its function as a PPARa agonist. Furthermore, the activation of PPARb/d improves the serum lipid profile, which seems to support the notion that CMG exerts beneficial effects on lipid metabolism [16].…”

“…Trace components include verbenone, a-terpinolene, and linalool-which contribute to the mastic oil's antibacterial activity-and camphene, which has fat-reducing activity [15]. Georgiadis et al [16] remarked that CMG's antibacterial, fat-reducing, and anti-inflammatory activities suggest synergistic effects: ''a combination of several compounds is more potent than any single compound on its own. ''…”

Primary prevention of atherosclerosis by pretreatment of low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout mice with sesame oil and its aqueous components

“…Indeed, the components of SOAE in combination counteracted against LPS-induced inflammation in monocyte-derived macrophages 52 . Considering the fact that the lipophilic molecules of SO, such as lignans, α–tocopherol and phytosterols, have less feasibility to separate out into water (confirmed by the absence of these in SOAE by LC-MS analysis), our published studies 17 , 18 suggest that apart from these lipophilic molecules, SO has other biologically active polar molecules that can counteract inflammation and atherosclerosis. However, the study should in no way be interpreted to suggest that ALL the inflammatory components reside in the aqueous extract.…”

“…This finding led us to evaluate whether non-saponifiable components of edible oil that have been overlooked could have properties that would act in synergy with fatty acid components to not only inhibit atherosclerotic properties, but also promote regression. Subsequently, we demonstrated that an aqueous extract (SOAE) from SO was effective in inhibiting inflammation, both in vitro and in vivo 17 , 18 .…”

The Use of Pistacia Lentiscus Chia Resin versus Omeprazole in Protecting Male Rats Peptic Mucosa against Cold Restraint Stress

“…This superoxide production is inhibited by mastic gum. It is suggested by recent stud-ies that CMG acts as a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) modulator [45]. PPARs are nuclear receptors that control cellular functions via transcription at the level of gene expression implicated in the pathways of metabolic syndrome, inflammation, atheromatosis, and cancer [36,45].…”