Chios mastic gum: a validated method towards authentication

Chios mastic gum (CMG) is the resinous secretion obtained as a trunk exudate from Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia. Apart from being an acknowledged phytotherapeutic agent, mastic is also a PDO product of significant economic value, since it finds numerous applications in the cosmetics, food, and food supplements' industries. Due to its low annual production and high market demand, CMG has often fallen victim to adulteration with other, inferior quality products and packaging falsification. In an attempt to establish an analytical platform for the quality control of CMG and related products, the current work emphasizes on the development and validation of a reliable, robust and simple HPLC-ELSD methodology for the determination of masticadienonic and isomasticadienonic acids, CMG's major triterpenes, in samples containing mastic. The method was employed to the analysis of eight authentic CMG samples, one inauthentic mastic sample and four commercial food supplements.