Gum is a soft, sticky substance designed to chew without being swallowed. Modern gum consists of gum base, sweetener, softener / plasticizer, flavoring agent, pigment and typical hard or powder polyol coating. [1] Due to the physicochemical properties of its polymers, plasticizers and resin components, its texture is reminiscent of rubber, which contributes to its elastoplasticity, viscosity and chewability.

The cultural tradition of chewing gum seems to have developed through the evolutionary process of integration, because the traces of this habit have appeared separately in many early civilizations. The early precursors of each gum come from the natural growth of the region and are chewed purely out of instinct. Early chewers do not necessarily want to get nutritional benefits from their chewing substances, but sometimes seek to stimulate taste, clean teeth or enhance the ability of breath. Since the Neolithic age, chewing gum has existed in many forms. In kierikki, Finland, chewing gum made from birch bark tar with a 6000 year history was found with teeth marks. The tar from which the glue is made is considered to have antiseptic properties and other medical benefits. It is chemically similar to petroleum tar and therefore different from most other early chewing gum. The Aztecs, like their ancient Maya predecessors, used natural gum Chile as the basis for making gum like substances and glued them together in daily use. Chewing gum was also chewed in ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks chewed the mastic made from the resin of the frankincense tree. Mastic gum, like birch bark tar, has antiseptic properties and is considered to be able to maintain oral health. Pepper and frankincense are both dendrimers. Many other cultures also chew gum like substances made from plants, grass and resins.

Although chewing gum can be traced back to civilization around the world, the modernization and commercialization of the product mainly take place in the United States. The American Indians chewed the resin made of spruce sap. New England settlers adopted this approach, and in 1848, John B. Curtis developed and sold the first commercial gum, known as Maine spruce gum. In this way, industrialized Westerners have forgotten about gum, but rediscovered gum through the first Americans. Around 1850, a gum made of paraffin was developed, which was an oil product and soon surpassed spruce gum. In order to sweeten these early chewing gum, the chewer usually uses a plate of powdered sugar and then repeatedly immerses it in it to keep it sweet. On December 28, 1869, William Semple applied for an early patent of gum, patent No. 98304.