Safety Profile of Pistacia lentiscus powder and tears in rat.

Pistacia lentiscus L (PL) is commonly known as gum mastic. Its powder and tears are widely used in herbal/ medicinal item, cosmetics and food supplements. The oil and gum resin of (PL) are anticipated to be consuming with other pharmacological agents in order to avoid any drug- drug interaction. The study was design to evaluate the sub-acute toxicity of gum mastic powder (GMP) and gum mastic tears (GMT) at the dose of 0.2857g/kg for a duration of 14 days. On 14th day of experiment, different biochemical test was performed on animal blood sample and then sacrificed for histopathological analysis of heart, liver and kidney and spleen. There were no significant differences in the gross and histopathology changes in vital organs like heart, liver and kidney and spleen tissues at the dose of 0.2857g/kg of gum mastic tears and powder and their corresponding control. The results indicate that both GMP and GMT can be used as cardio-protective and in gout treatment. It was concluded that use of gum mastic tears and powdered was found to be safe and consequently use in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.