Determination of essential oil specifications in the leaves of wild (pistacia lentiscus L.) and cultivated (Pistacia lentiscus var. chia. Duham.) mactic trees grown in Ceşme peninsula

In the Çeşme district of the city of İzmir, both cultivated mastic trees (Pistacia lentiscus var. chia) and wild mastic trees (Pistacia lentiscus L.)can be found. In this study, my aim is to identify the essential oil amount and essential oil substance of those plants by using the wild mastic tree leaves that are especially found in the nature and to discover the potential usage by comparing it with cultivated mastic leaves. The amount of essential oil of the leaf samples of the both groups of trees have been identified by using the distillation technique and the substances of the oil from the gathered leaves have been identified by using a GC - MS (Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometre) device. Assessing the gathered data, it can be observed that the amount of α-Pinen, main component of resin essential oil, can be found more in the wild mastic tree leaves than it can be found in cultivated mastic tree leaves. The essential oil acquired from the wild mastic tree leaves is more similar to resin oil, compared to the essential oil gathered from the cultivated mastic tree leaves. In addition, as it will be harder to provide leaves and branches for the cultivated mastic trees, it is more reasonable to use wild mastic trees for this purpose. Besides that, it is also worth mentioning that when the essential oils of wild and cultivated mastic trees are compared, both groups of essential oils show an increase at different times. Cultivated mastic reaches its peak essential oil amount in June, while wild mastic reaches it in September. In conclusion, the wild mastic tree leaves found in Çeşme region are rich in structure due to the amount of essential oil and the oil components they have. Componentwise, it is similar to resin of cultivated mastic tree. As such, the mastic oil that will be gathered from the leaves of the wild mastic trees will greatly add value to the economy.