Mastic Gum 550 mg by Seeking Health

POSSIBLY EFFECTIVE

• Dyspepsia. Oral mastic seems to improve symptoms in adults with functional dyspepsia. Details: A clinical trial in adults with functional dyspepsia shows that taking mastic gum 350 mg three times daily for 3 weeks improves symptoms, including stomach pain, heartburn, and upper abdominal pain, in a greater percentage of patients when compared with placebo (62071).

INSUFFICIENT RELIABLE EVIDENCE to RATE

• Brittle nails. Topical mastic oil has only been evaluated in combination with other ingredients; its effect when used alone is unclear. Details: Two small clinical studies in patients with brittle nails shows that applying a water-based solution containing mastic oil and hyaluronic acid to the nails once daily for up to 6 months increases nail hardness, improves nail appearance, and decreases nail breakage when compared with untreated nails (103267,103268). It is unclear if these findings are due to mastic, hyaluronic acid, or the combination.
• Cancer. Although there has been interest in using oral mastic for cancer, there is insufficient reliable information about the clinical effects of mastic for this purpose.
• Crohn disease. It is unclear if oral mastic is beneficial in patients with Crohn disease. Details: A very small clinical study in patients with active Crohn disease shows that taking mastic 2.22 grams daily for 4 weeks improves symptoms, such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and non-gastrointestinal symptoms, by 39% when compared to baseline (62051). The validity of these findings is limited by the lack of a comparator group.
• Dyslipidemia. It is unclear if oral mastic is beneficial in patients with elevated total cholesterol. Details: A large clinical study in adults with elevated total cholesterol shows that taking mastic essential oil 200 mg daily for 8 weeks modestly improves total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides when compared to baseline (112905). However, the interpretation of these findings is limited because the change from baseline to 8 weeks is not statistically compared between groups.
• Halitosis. It is unclear if oral mastic is beneficial for halitosis in teenaged patients with fixed orthodontic appliances. Details: A small clinical study in teenaged patients with fixed orthodontic appliances shows that using a specific formulation of mastic mouthwash (Mastiha Mouthwash Gingivaction, Mastihashop) 10 mL for 30 seconds twice daily for 14 days improves measures of hydrogen sulfide but does not improve other measures of malodorous volatile sulfur compounds or subjective halitosis scores when compared with placebo (112906). However, it is unclear whether any improvements are clinically significant.
• Helicobacter pylori. It is unclear if oral mastic is beneficial in patients with H. pylori infection. Details: A small clinical study in patients with H. pylori infection shows that taking mastic gum 0.35 or 1.05 grams three times daily for 2 weeks eradicates H. pylori in approximately one-third of patients by 5 weeks post-treatment. However, taking mastic gum alone or in combination with pantoprazole is less effective than a combination of pantoprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin (62069).
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is unclear if oral mastic is beneficial in patients with IBD. Details: A small clinical study in adults with IBD that is in remission shows that taking mastic 2.8 grams daily for 3 months does not improve quality of life when compared with placebo (99987).
• Metabolic syndrome. It is unclear if oral mastic is beneficial in patients with metabolic syndrome. Details: A moderate-sized clinical study in patients with abdominal obesity and at least 1 other metabolic syndrome risk factor shows that taking mastic essential oil 200 mg once daily for 3 months improves triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein levels, but does not improve total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, glucose, or insulin levels when compared with control (112904). However, the interpretation of these findings is limited by differences in body mass index and percent of patients with hypertension among groups at baseline.
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is unclear if oral mastic is beneficial in patients with NAFLD. Details: A small clinical study in obese adults with NAFLD or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) shows that taking mastic 2.1 grams daily for 6 months does not improve liver inflammation fibrosis scores. However, when stratified by BMI, a subgroup analysis suggests improvement in liver fibrosis among patients with severe obesity (106473).
• Peptic ulcers. Small clinical studies suggest that oral mastic powder may modestly improve symptoms and healing rates in patients with peptic ulcers. Details: One small clinical study in adults with duodenal ulcers shows that taking mastic powder 1 gram daily orally for 2 weeks improves symptoms and ulcer healing in a greater percentage of patients when compared with placebo (62090). Another small clinical study in patients with gastric ulcers shows that taking mastic powder 1 gram twice daily for 4 weeks may help improve symptoms and ulcer healing in patients with gastric ulcer (62089).
• Periodontitis. It is unclear if brushing with a dentifrice containing mastic essential oil is beneficial in patients with periodontitis. Details: A small clinical study in patients with periodontitis shows that brushing with a dentifrice containing mastic essential oil using a sonic toothbrush for 12 weeks reduces plaque accumulation, as well as gingival swelling, bleeding, and redness, when compared with using a sonic toothbrush alone (62096).
• Wound healing. Although there has been interest in using topical mastic for wound healing, there is insufficient reliable information about the clinical effects of mastic for this purpose. More information is needed to rate mastic for these uses.

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POSSIBLY SAFE ...when used orally in doses of up to 2. 8 grams daily for up to 3 months (18,62089,62090,99986,99987). ...when a specific mastic extract (RPh201, Regenera Pharma) is administered by subcutaneous injection at doses up to 20 mg twice weekly for up to 4 weeks (103266). There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of mastic when used topically. Cases of allergic contact dermatitis have been reported with mastic gum-containing products (106467).

PREGNANCY AND LACTATION:
Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

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General ...Orally and subcutaneously, mastic seems to be well tolerated. A thorough assessment of safety outcomes with topical mastic has not been conducted.
Most Common Adverse Effects:
Topically: Allergic contact dermatitis in sensitive individuals.
Subcutaneously: Dizziness, headache, injection site erythema, and injection site pain.

Dermatologic ...Subcutaneously, administration of a specific mastic extract (RPh201, Regenera Pharma) has been most commonly reported to cause injection site pain and erythema. Pruritus, rash, and ecchymosis have also been reported with this extract (103266).
Topically, use of a specific mastic gum- and storax gum-containing product (Mastisol Liquid Adhesive, Ferndale Laboratories) has been associated with cases of allergic contact dermatitis, with most of the reactions being attributed to mastic gum. Cross-allergenicity between mastic gum and both synthetic and natural fragrance-related substances was frequent (106467).

Gastrointestinal ...Orally, nausea, diarrhea, and constipation have been rarely reported following use of mastic gum (62051,62069,62071). In one case, constipation ceased two days after discontinuing mastic gum (62051).

Immunologic ...The pollen of mastic tree is allergenic to some individuals (4140).

Neurologic/CNS ...Subcutaneously, administration of a specific mastic extract (RPh201, Regenera Pharma) has been reported to cause headache and dizziness (103266).

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