Updated 14 January 2024
Botanical characteristics
- Latin name: Pistacia lentiscus L.
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Sapindales
- Family: Anacardiaceae
- Genus: Pistacia
- Part used: leafy branches
Authorised users
Routes of administration
- Oral route: +++
- Skin: ++
Scientific properties
- Antispasmodic
- Venous and lymphatic decongestant and drainer, phlebotonic
- Tones the blood
- Prostatic decongestant, regulates vaginal secretion
- Anti-inflammatory
Energy Properties
- Helps you realise your ambitions
- Lifts the spirit
- Tends to improve relations between the opposite sexes, warding off hostility and jealousy
Indications
- Varicose veins
- Haemorrhoids
- Heavy legs
- Prostatitis
- Phlebitis
- Rosacea
- Oedema
- Cellulite
- Water retention
- Pelvic congestion
- Sinusitis
- Otitis
- Bronchitis
- Angina
Directions for use/usual dosage
- For prostate congestion or venous or lymphatic circulation problems, take a 20-day course of 1 tablespoon of hydrosol in 1 litre of water, to be drunk daily; it can also be sprayed directly on the legs.
- For sinusitis, spray directly into the nostrils or add a teaspoon to a cup of hot water mixed with other hydrosols and drink 4 to 5 times a day, depending on the condition.
Precautions for use/contraindications
- None known
Cosmetic
- Healing
- Haematomas
- Blotchy skin
To find out more
It is ideal to combine the use of mastic essential oil on the skin with the oral hydrosol in cases of lymphatic, venous or prostatic congestion.
Additional information
Habitat and botanical description
The lentisque, or pistachio lentisque, is a shrub that grows in the garrigues and especially in the macchia of Mediterranean climates. A member of the Anacardiaceae family, this evergreen shrub produces fruits that are initially red and turn black when ripe. Its resin is known as mastic.
Mythology / History / Anecdotes and traditional virtues
The name pistachio comes from the Greek pistakê. The name mastic comes from the Latin lentus or 'viscous'. Mastic, the resin of the mastic tree, has been used since ancient times as a mouthwash, chewed like chewing gum. Today, the same resin is still used in dentistry as an adhesive.