Spruce Gum: Traditional Use, Research & Science
Spruce Gum: Traditional Use, Research & the Science of Chewing
No hype. Just the research.
A source-based look at documented traditional spruce gum use, published research involving spruce and pine species, the science of chewing, conventional gum ingredients, aspartame, and emerging microplastics research.
Our approach: Every source below includes what was actually studied, what researchers reported, and the limits of what that research can tell us about spruce resin chewing gum.
Traditional Spruce Gum
Gwich’in Documentation — Black & White Spruce
Source: Gwich’in Social & Cultural Institute
Species: Black spruce (Picea mariana) and white spruce (Picea glauca)
Gwich’in ethnobotanical documentation identifies spruce gum as the hard, older sap or pitch of black and white spruce. It records that spruce gum can be collected year-round and chewed like gum.
The documentation also records spruce gum being commonly given to children as a treat while families were out cutting wood or picking berries.
Halkomelem Ethnobotany — Sitka Spruce Pitch
Source: Simon Fraser University — Halkomelem Ethnobiology
Species: Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)
Simon Fraser University’s Halkomelem ethnobotanical documentation records that Sitka spruce pitch was used as chewing gum among Upriver Halkomelem people.
Yellowknives Dene — Spruce Gum Knowledge
Source: National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education
Origin: Yellowknives Dene First Nation / Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning
NCCIE hosts a land-based lesson covering the harvesting of spruce gum and the preparation of spruce gum tea. The lesson presents spruce gum within Indigenous traditional-medicine education and land-based knowledge.
Research on the Species in Our Gum
Alberta Wildcraft Spruce Gum is made from resin we harvest from white spruce, black spruce and lodgepole pine. Scientific research exists involving all three species, although the type of research differs considerably between studies.
White Spruce + Lodgepole Pine Pitch
Species:
White spruce — Picea glauca
Lodgepole pine — Pinus contorta
Researchers evaluated traditional Carrier herbal preparations using laboratory antimicrobial testing.
Pitch preparations made from white spruce and lodgepole pine were tested against several microorganisms, including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus.
The researchers reported definite antimicrobial activity in the white spruce and lodgepole pine pitch preparations.
Ritch-Krc E.M., Turner N.J., Towers G.H. — Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 1996
Black Spruce Resin Acids & Bark Chemistry
Species: Black spruce — Picea mariana
Researchers investigated biologically active compounds present in black spruce bark extracts.
Seven resin-related compounds were identified, including pimaric acid, sandaracopimaric acid, isopimaric acid, isopimarol, palustric acid, dehydroabietic acid and abietic acid.
Several of the identified compounds demonstrated activity against Staphylococcus aureus during laboratory testing.
Lodgepole Pine Extractives
Species: Lodgepole pine — Pinus contorta
Researchers compared knotwood extracts from numerous tree species against bacteria associated with paper manufacturing.
Lodgepole pine extracts reduced or inhibited growth of the tested bacteria. The researchers associated antibacterial activity in the pine extracts with compounds including pinosylvin and pinosylvin monomethyl ether.
Why Spruce Trees Produce Resin
White Spruce Resin Duct Research
Species: White spruce — Picea glauca
Researchers examined resin ducts, terpene-producing enzymes and terpenoid metabolites in white spruce stem tissue.
The study describes resin ducts as part of the tree’s defence system and examined the terpenoid chemistry produced within those tissues.
The Science of Chewing
The resin is only one part of the equation. The physical act of chewing has also been studied extensively.
Chewing Increases Salivary Flow
American Dental Association
The American Dental Association reports that chewing gum stimulates salivary flow through mechanical action and stimulation of oral taste receptors.
The ADA notes that even chewing unsweetened, unflavoured gum base can substantially increase salivary flow compared with resting saliva.
Increased saliva helps dilute and neutralize acids in the mouth. Stimulated saliva also carries calcium and phosphate ions involved in the natural remineralization processes of tooth enamel.
Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis — Gum Chewing and Saliva
Researchers conducted a systematic review examining gum chewing, dry-mouth symptoms and salivary flow in elderly and medically compromised populations.
Twenty-five studies met the criteria for the systematic review and six were included in the meta-analysis.
The meta-analysis found a small but statistically significant overall effect of gum chewing on unstimulated salivary flow compared with controls.
Dodds M.W.J., Ben Haddou M., Day J.E.L. — BMC Oral Health, 2023
Saliva, Acids & Enamel
American Dental Association
The ADA explains that increased saliva volume can help dilute and neutralize acids produced by bacteria in dental plaque.
Stimulated saliva also contains calcium and phosphate ions involved in the natural remineralization of tooth enamel and has greater buffering capacity than unstimulated saliva.
What About Salivary Proteins?
A systematic review evaluated 14 studies examining whether chewing changes the composition or activity of salivary proteins.
The findings were mixed. Most available evidence suggested that chewing had little or no effect on the expression or activity of many salivary proteins, and the researchers concluded that more standardized research was needed.
What’s in Conventional Chewing Gum?
Spruce resin gum and conventional chewing gum achieve their chew in very different ways.
Synthetic Polymers in Gum Base
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Modern chewing gum does not necessarily get its texture from a traditional natural tree gum.
U.S. food regulations permit a number of materials for use in chewing gum base, and FDA records identify polyvinyl acetate as one material associated with permitted chewing gum base ingredients.
Microplastics Released While Chewing Gum
Researchers tested five brands of synthetic chewing gum and five brands marketed as natural gum to investigate whether chewing released microplastic particles into saliva.
Microplastics were detected from both synthetic and natural commercial gums during the pilot study.
The researchers reported an average of approximately 100 microplastic particles released per gram of gum, while some individual pieces released considerably more.
Most detected particles were released during the first several minutes of chewing.
Aspartame & Chewing Gum
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener permitted for use in chewing gum and many other foods.
Aspartame — What Health Authorities Actually Say
In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” — Group 2B, citing limited evidence for carcinogenicity in humans.
At the same time, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives reaffirmed the existing acceptable daily intake of 0–40 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
Health Canada reviewed the 2023 assessments and maintained its position that permitted consumption of aspartame does not pose a health risk under current approved levels of use.
People with phenylketonuria, or PKU, must control their intake of phenylalanine, which is why foods containing aspartame carry a phenylalanine statement.
Why We Keep Our Gum Simple
Spruce resin. Pine resin. That's it.
No conventional synthetic gum base.
No aspartame.
No artificial sweeteners.
No added flavours.
No fillers.
We don't need to exaggerate the science behind conventional gum ingredients to explain why we make ours differently.
If you want a traditional resin chew made from material harvested directly from the tree, that's what we make.
What Has Not Been Proven
There is an important distinction between research involving spruce or pine resin and research specifically involving spruce resin chewing gum.
Research involving tree resins, resin extracts, individual resin compounds, traditional preparations, saliva, conventional chewing gum or artificial sweeteners should not automatically be interpreted as evidence that chewing spruce resin produces the same effects.
That distinction matters to us.
This page exists so customers can see the research for themselves — including its limitations — rather than turning laboratory findings or traditional knowledge into claims the research did not make.
Curious to try spruce gum for yourself?
Explore Alberta Wildcraft Spruce Gum →Sources & Original Research
Gwich’in Social & Cultural Institute
Gwich’in Ethnobotany — black and white spruce gum collection and chewing.
Original source →
Andre, Alestine & Alan Fehr
Gwich’in Ethnobotany: Plants Used by the Gwich’in for Food, Medicine, Shelter and Tools
Publication →
Simon Fraser University — Halkomelem Ethnobiology
Sitka Spruce — documents spruce pitch used as chewing gum.
Original source →
National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education
Making Spruce Gum Tea — Yellowknives Dene First Nation.
Original source →
Ritch-Krc, E.M., Turner, N.J. & Towers, G.H. — 1996
Carrier herbal medicine: an evaluation of the antimicrobial and anticancer activity in some frequently used remedies.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 52(3), 151–156.
PubMed →
Université du Québec à Chicoutimi — 2006
Isolation et identification de composés antibiotiques des écorces de Picea mariana.
Research →
Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology — 2004
Antibacterial effects of knotwood extractives on paper mill bacteria.
Study →
Abbott et al. — 2010
Laser microdissection of conifer stem tissues: isolation and analysis of high quality RNA, terpene synthase enzyme activity and terpenoid metabolites from resin ducts and cambial zone tissue of white spruce.
BMC Plant Biology.
Study →
Dodds, M.W.J., Ben Haddou, M. & Day, J.E.L. — 2023
The effect of gum chewing on xerostomia and salivary flow rate in elderly and medically compromised subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
BMC Oral Health.
Study →
Al-Manei et al. — 2020
Effect of Chewing on the Expression of Salivary Protein Composition: A Systematic Review.
PROTEOMICS — Clinical Applications.
Study →
American Dental Association
Chewing Gum — Oral Health Topics.
ADA resource →
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Chewing gum base / polyvinyl acetate regulatory information.
FDA record →
American Chemical Society — 2025
Chewing gum can shed microplastics into saliva, pilot study finds.
ACS report →
International Agency for Research on Cancer — 2023
Aspartame hazard and risk assessment results.
IARC assessment →
Health Canada
Aspartame safety and Canadian regulatory information.
Health Canada →
This page is provided for educational purposes. The studies and traditional sources listed above investigated particular tree species, resin preparations, extracts, compounds, traditional practices, chewing, or conventional chewing-gum ingredients more generally. They did not evaluate Alberta Wildcraft Spruce Gum as a medical treatment.
Alberta Wildcraft Spruce Gum is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.