University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

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1 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Aspects of product quality in plant production Matrikelnummer: Winter term 2016/17 15/12/2016 Chios Mastic 1

2 Outline Introduction... 3 Botanical description... 4 Nutritional value and medicinal uses... 4 Growing conditions... 4 Cultivation practices... 5 Propagation... 5 Pruning... 5 Fertilization... 5 Irrigation... 5 Harvest... 6 Cultivation practices before the harvest... 6 The harvest... 6 First processing by the producers... 6 Commercial processing by the Chios Mastic Growers Association... 6 Products and culinary uses... 7 Diseases and pests... 7 References... 8 Suggestions for further reading

3 Introduction The Chios Mastic is a unique agricultural product which is produced from The Mastic Tree (Pistacia Lentiscus var. Chia). This variety of the mastic Tree belongs to the family of Anacardiaceae and it can be cultivated only in the south part of Chios island in Greece. (Figure 1) The south part of the island is famous for this unique production and so these villages, which contributes to the cultivation, are called Mastikohoria (Mastic villages). The production of Mastic started already in the ancient Greece and since the Byzantium s decadence, several nations tried to claimed Chios island in order to control mastic s trade. Even during the Ottoman occupation, the residents of the islands were forced to give a part of the mastic s production as taxes to the Sultan. During the 1 st world war, the mastic s production faced a severe crisis until the beginning of the 20 th century. In 1938, an association called Chios Mastic Growers Association was funded, which helped the increasing of the production, even during the 2 nd world war and the German occupation. In 1950, mastic oil was first produced and in 1985 the todays factory of ELMA chewing gum was opened. Most importantly, in 1997 the European Union recognized Chios mastic, mastic oil and Chios ELMA chewing gum as PDO products. (Protected Designation of Origin). Mastic is the name of the aromatic and natural resin, falling in the ground in a teardrop shape, from scratches on the tree s trunk and main branches. The cultivators, using sharp tools, induce the exudation. The name of mastic derivers from the Greek verb μασσώ (chewing or bite) or from the ancient word μάστιξ (lash), cause the previous technique was to whipping the trees instead of scratching them. At the beginning, mastic is liquid but it is getting hardened when it is solidified. (Dordas, 2012) 3

4 Botanical description The mastic tree is a dioecious, evergreen scrub of the Mediterranean area, which can reach up to 3m height. The leaves are small and leathery and the flowers are small and unisexual. The male flowers are red, whereas the females are brown. The fruits are drupes no bigger than 8mm in diameter. At the beginning, they are red but during maturation they become black. The trees can live up to 100 years, but the mastic production starts after the 5 th year and maximized after the 15 th year. In average, a tree can produce annually grams of mastic, with the male trees being significally more productive. (Dordas, 2012) Nutritional value and medicinal uses The nutritional value of mastic was known in the ancient Greece, but numerous scientific papers were published during the last three decades trying to analyze all these medicinal identities. In table 1, mastic s chemical properties are being descripted. Mastic s properties against problems relevant to the digestions system have been confirmed and its antibacterial effects have been excessively underlined. Scientific evidence have been found regarding resin s antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial action. Furthermore, until nowadays, Chios Mastic is used as a component against several skin conditions and it is being applied in wound adhesives, in medical strips, in anti-irrigation creams and in surgical dressings. Another important medicinal use, its activity in the oral cavity, was already mentioned from Herodotus, Dioscorides and others during the Ottoman period, and was thoroughly been studied since Lastly, recent scientific evidence attributes anti-cancer effects to Chios Mastic and mentioned the possibility to be used as a therapeutic agent. (The Chios Gym Mastic growers association, 2015) Growing conditions The mastic tree is a highly sensitive to frost as in temperatures lower than 0 C the trees are being highly damaged. It has minor soil demands, and it can be grown in rocky, poor soil conditions, but in fertile soils and with drought conditions, the production will be optimum. It can be growth in all the Mediterranean area, but only in the southern part of Chios island mastic is produced. This high specificity could be due to the microclimate of the area, due to the cultivation practice or due to the genetic selection, through natural selection and cultivation adjudgments by the local producers throughout the years. The microclimate of the island is characterized with mild winters and very dry summers. Additionally, the geology of the island prevents the rains in the southern part due to the high mountains in the north part, which weakens the strong cold winds coming from the Balkans. It is a usual phenomenon, in the whole island to be raining except in the Mastikochoria. Thus, the mastic can get dry during maturation and keep the high quality. The local producers 4

5 created a long-time tradition and based on their experiences throughout the generations, they created a variety with a high resins productivity. (Dordas, 2006) Cultivation practices Propagation Generally, mastic s tree propagation considers to be difficult and it is a limited factor for the extension of the cultivation. Traditionally is propagated mainly by semi-hardwood terminal cuttings. Cuttings around cm and with good eye formation are being used. They are being planted in the final position directly in the field, in cm depth in the end of autumn or at the beginning of spring, in February or in March. The planting should be in rows and 3-4m distance from plant to plant is essential. The timing of the cuttings collection is the most important factor. Cuttings should be from actively growing shoots for high percentages of rooting. (Dordas, 2006; İSFENDİYAROĞLU, 2003) Pruning The pruning starts the third year after the planting. Every year then, at the beginning of February, they prune the lower branches and the dry branches in order to keep the shape of the tree in a way that allows not only the circulation of air and light, but also the drying of the resin. Every 5 years though, a stronger pruning is needed to ensure the good willing shape of the tree. Fertilization Even though the mastic tree has minor soil demands, an annual fertilization is needed for the optimization of the mastic s production. Every year in January or in February 0.5 1kg of ammonium sulfate is used per tree or an alternative organic practice is the green manure with the cultivation of legumes. Irrigation The mastic tree is favored in drought conditions, but during the 3-4 first summers, irrigations are needed for optimum growth. When mastic s production starts though, excessive humidity will downgrade the quality of the product, so irrigations should be avoided specially during the harvest period. (Dordas, 2006) 5

6 Harvest The harvest of the resins is from June until September and is divided in four individual practices. 1. Cultivation practices before the harvest 2. The harvest 3. First processing by the producers 4. Commercial processing by the Chios Mastic Growers Association (Dordas, 2006) Cultivation practices before the harvest From June until middle of July the area under the trees is being cleaned and the soil is being leveled, so that any mastic drops that may fall on the ground, can be easily gathered. Then, white soil powder of calcium carbonate (CaCo3) is spread to the ground to create a smoot surface. (Figure 3) In this way, when the resins fall on the ground can get easier solidified without losing its properties and it is easier to be collected. Then, on July and for 5-6 weeks on, follows the most crucial stage in mastic production, the so called kentima. (Figure 4) Kentima is the technique where the producers are making small scars on the tree bark twice per week. The scars have a length of mm and depth of 4-5 mm. They used an iron tool with grooved ends, called kentitiri and they start from the lowest part of the trunk going upper to the branches. After kentima, mastic in its liquid form will start to flow outside and in days will start be solidified. (Figure 5) Usually this lasts until August, but if it is needed a second kentima will be done until September. The harvest The first harvesting is done after the 15 th of August, with a specific tool which look like a broom. Then after days after the solidification of the second production, again it will be harvested. In the end, mastic is being transferring to cool places to be stored until further processing. First processing by the producers The women of the villages traditionally do the next step. They are gathering during evenings in big trays and they manually separate mastic drops from external materials, like leaves and soil. They are filtering the mastic drops using big sieves. Then, they wash them using water and soap. The cleaning procedure can be repeated several times. Only when mastic looks clean, it will be placed in dark storage conditions inside the house to get dry. After this step, the producer will give the production to the Chios Mastic Growers Association for further processing. Commercial processing by the Chios Mastic Growers Association In the factory of Chios Mastic Growers Association, the production will be again cleaned and dry one more time with the same way and then it will be mechanically packaged according to its size. Further processing will be managed when it is needed, to produce the different mastic products such as ELMA chewing gum or mastic oil. (Dordas, 2006) 6

7 Products and culinary uses Chios Mastic is being multi-used in everyday life in Greece, since the ancient times. But nowadays is being exported all over the world and has been established as a unique ingredient in many aspects of our lives. Most importantly, in 2015 it additionally received its European Union Herbal monograph, as it was positively evaluated from the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (GMPC) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). That indicates the positive international scientific opinion on its medicinal properties and allows its labelling and selling as a medicinal product. (European Medicines Agency, 2015; The Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association, 2015) Many forms of mastic exist in the pharmaceutic market and it is recommended for the relief of stomach disorders and on the hygiene of the gastrointestinal system. In the food industry, the most international recognized products are the gums. ELMA factory is producing Mastic gums in different packaging without any additional artificial aroma added. Thus, its flavor is decreasing rather quickly but that indicates its natural way of production. Additionally, Mastic oil is extracted from the Chios mastic through distillation with steam and it is used as aromatic, flavoring, or therapeutic ingredient. Diseases and pests The mastic tree is not susceptible to many diseases, so there is no need of chemical control and there are few researches on them too, but the most important among them are two. One is due to the fungus Polyporus, which affects old trees and destroy their trunks. And one is due to Eutyra Armeniaca which can be crucial to the mastic trees as it destroys the trees and they need to be burnt to avoid the spreading. Regarding its enemies, the mastic tree can be attacked from different scales of the Coccidae family, from the Liraris dispar insect, which belongs to the family of liparidae and eats the young leaves and from the aphid Αploneura lentisci (aphideae). (Dordas, 2006) 7

8 References Chios Mastic. Journals of the national Greek congress on September, 2006 by the Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists Retrieved from: on 6/12/2016 Dordas, C. (2012) Aromatic and Medicinal plants. Sychroni Paideia. European Medicines Agency. Assessment report on Pistacia lentiscus L., resin (mastix) Retrieved from: _HMPC_assessment_report/2015/07/WC pdf, on 7/12/2016 Retrieved from: _Herbal_monograph/2015/07/WC pdf, on 7/12/2016 İSFENDİYAROĞLU, M. (2003) Effects of some physical and biochemical factors on the rooting of Mastic Tree (Pistacia lentiscus var. chia Duham) cuttings The Chios gum mastic growers association. (2015) Overview of the major scientific publications on the beneficial activity of Chios Mastic. Fourth edition. Retrieved from: Suggestions for further reading 5.pdf 8