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Selected Traditional Beverages from Greece (North Aegean Region and Crete): History, Comprehensive Evaluation, and Future Perspectives

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Natural Products in Beverages

Part of the book series: Reference Series in Phytochemistry ((RSP))

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Abstract

Traditional beverages (TBs) in Greece have only received marginal attention from researchers until now. This review is focused on herb-based TBs mostly consumed in the North Aegean region and the island of Crete in Greece. The scope of our study was to document all existing data about seven (7) selected TBs as well to analyze their historical development, their evolution from artisanal manufacture to industrialized commercialization, and their comprehensive evaluation and distribution within Greek community until our days.

The selection comprises of one alcoholic TB of mastic liqueur (Pistacia lentiscus, growing in the island of Chios) and two nonalcoholic TBs of: soumada (sweet and bitter almond-based drink), vysinada (soft drink from sour cherry Prunus cerasus fruits), as well as four herbal teas: kainari (a spices’ combination of Lesvos Island with cinnamon, clove, etc., as main components), dittany of Crete (Origanum dictamnus), iron-wort (Sideritis species), and pink rock-rose (Cistus creticus), which will be further discussed and reviewed.

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Abbreviations

CIM:

Complementary and integrative medicine

CMG:

Chios mastic gum

EDQM:

European Directorate of Quality of Medicines

EMA:

European Medicines Agency

EO:

Essential oil

EU:

European Union

HMPC:

Herbal Medicinal Products Committee

MBC :

Minimum bactericidal concentration

MIC:

Minimal inhibitory concentration

PDO :

Product of protected designation of origin

SARS-CoV-2:

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2

TBs:

Traditional beverages

THMP:

Traditional herbal medicinal product

TPC:

Total phenolic content

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, Department of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Christos G. Ganos, Nektarios Aligiannis & Ioanna Chinou

Authors
  1. Christos G. Ganos
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  2. Nektarios Aligiannis
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  3. Ioanna Chinou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ioanna Chinou .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

    Jean-Michel Mérillon

  2. UMRt BioEcoAgro, University of Lille, Lille, France

    Céline Riviere

  3. UMRt BioEcoAgro, University of Lille, Lille, France

    Gabriel Lefèvre

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Ganos, C.G., Aligiannis, N., Chinou, I. (2023). Selected Traditional Beverages from Greece (North Aegean Region and Crete): History, Comprehensive Evaluation, and Future Perspectives. In: Mérillon, JM., Riviere, C., Lefèvre, G. (eds) Natural Products in Beverages. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04195-2_221-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04195-2_221-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-04195-2

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