The Chemical Composition of Spanish Myrtle Leaf Oils. Part I.

ABSTRACT The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of Spanish cultivated and wild growing plants from Myrtus communis L. was examined by GC/MS. Over one hundred compounds were detected in the oils, from which about fifty could be identified and quantified. The main components were found to be α-pinene (8.05–8.18%), 1,8-cineole (15.14–29.89%), linalool (0.5–8.3%), and myrtenyl acetate (32.90–35.90%). A myrtle oil of Moroccan and one of Albanian origin were also examined and their composition was compared against the lab-distilled oils from Spanish plant material. The major components of these oils were α-pinene (19.40–23.54%), limonene (10.94–12.37%), 1,8-cineole (21.77–33.63%), and myrtenyl acetate (16.06–16.08%). As there were some differences between the chemical composition of these oils, the origin of these differences are discussed. KEY WORD INDEX: Myrtus communis Myrtaceaemyrtle oilessential oil compositionmyrtenyl acetate