A study of Pistacia lentiscus L. (mastic tree) potential in cosmetics | Etude du potentiel cosmétique du pistachier lentisque

International audience

English. Pistacia lentiscus (mastic tree) is a very common shrub in most coastal areas around the Mediterranean sea. Very tolerant to heat and drought, and thriving in almost all types of soil, it can better adapt to climate change than most other species. It therefore offers a great deal of hope in arid regions an for degraded forests and scrubland, where it could help preserve or improve the plant cover. Since antiquity, the mastic tree has traditionally had many applications in medicine, cosmetics, food an energy. Such uses constitute an incentive to study the plant in detail in order to better manage and develop its stands in the wild and accelerate its valorisation. The tree’s two most economically sought-after products are the resin, obtained by tapping its trunk, and the oil obtained from its fruit, edible fleshy berries. We sought to enhance the profitable use of other parts of the plant. We produced a hydrolate and an essential oil from leaves. We also harvested samples of fresh and dry leaves, fruit, bark and buds for laboratory analysis and biological activity tests. All the materials studied exhibited very good anti-collagenase (anti-ageing, skin elasticity, firming etc.) and anti-inflammatory effects, with the extracts from buds, leaves and bark achieving the best results. Buds, although rarely documented in the scientific literature, have good anti-oxidant, anti-ageing or anti-inflammatory impact that should reward their use in cosmetics. The dry leaves also have good properties related to polyphenolic and phenolic compounds. The buds and leaves showed the best extraction yields. The essential oil has good anti-inflammatory, skin repair and anti-ageing activity. The extracts from leaves and buds had the richest chromatographic profiles and the best biological activity. These results show the high medicinal and cosmetic potential of the mastic tree, confirming its traditional uses. They encourage further work to improve the value of this species, promising in terms of both its ecological and economic potential.