The Chemical Composition of Spanish Myrtle Oils. Part II

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from Spanish wild-growing myrtle leaves, flowers, unripe and ripe fruits was examined by GC/MS. About 130 constituents were present in the various oils, from which 80 components could be identified and quantified. The yields of the hydrodistilled oils obtained from different plant parts were: leaves, 0.4–0.5%; flowers, 0.4%; unripe fruits, 0.5% and ripe fruits, 0.02%. Significant differences were found in the concentrations of the main constituents of the oils, e.g. α-pinene (7–20%), 1, 8-cineole (16.5–61.5%) and myrtenyl acetate (0.1 to 36%). Apart from the variation in the yields during ripening (0.5–0.02%) the concentration of the main constituents also changed, e.g. 1, 8-cineole increased from 19.5% to 61.5% while myrtenyl acetate decreased from 33.0% to 0.1%.