Changes in Essential Oil Composition of Tunisian Myrtus communis var. italica L. During Its Vegetative Cycle

Myrtus communis var. italica leaves, fruits and stems were gathered from North Tunisia in order to investigate their essential oils during a one-year vegetative cycle by GC-FID and GC/MS. The yield and composition of myrtle oils were found to depend on the organ type and on the harvest period. The oil yield varied from 0.14-0.61% for the leaves, 0.003-0.11% for the fruits, and 0.001-0.06% for the stems. Forty-eight compounds were identified in leaf oils; α-pinene (28.3-58.0%), 1,8-cineole (12.7-30.7%), linalool (2.4-21.5%) and limonene (0.1-13.3%) were the main components. In the fruit oils, 46 compounds were identified with 1,8-cineole (7.3-44.9%), geranyl acetate (1.8-20.5%), linalool (0.7-18.9%) and α-pinene (1.2-12.6%) being the main compounds. Only 40 components were identified in stem oils, which were rich in 1,8-cineole (21.0-52.4%), linalool (3.1-18.4%) and α-pinene (1.5-16.1%).