title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research "N.S. Christeas," Athens School of Medicine, University of Athens , Athens, Greece .
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Georgiadis
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Karatzas
authors.forename: Laskarina-Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Korou
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katsilambros
authors.forename: Despina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Perrea
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000069997:Mastic Resin; D047492:Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors / Q000378:metabolism*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D027927:Pistacia / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012116:Resins, Plant / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D000069997:Mastic Resin; D047492:Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012116:Resins, Plant; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014315:Triterpenes
keywords: cancer; diabetes; dyslipidemia; herbal; inflammation; resin; triterpenoids