Mastic is a resin obtained from the mastic tree. In pharmacies and nature shops, it is called "Arabic gum" and "Yemen gum". In Greece, it is known as the "tears of Chios" being traditionally produced on that Greek island, and, like other natural resins, is produced in "tears" or droplets. Mastic has been used as a medicine since antiquity and is still used in traditional folk medicine of the Middle East. In ancient Greece, it was given as a remedy for snakebite, and, in India and Persia, it was used to fill dental cavities. The first-century Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides mentions the healing properties of mastic in his book De Materia Medica. Hippocrates wrote that the mastic is good for prevention of digestive problems and colds, and Galenus suggested that mastic was useful for bronchitis and for improving the condition of the blood. In medieval times, mastic was highly valued by sultans' harems as a breath freshener and a tooth whitener.
