Essential oil composition of two myrtus communis L. varieties grown in North Tunisia.

Two Myrtus communis varieties (var. italica and baetica) were studied in order to investigate their essential oil yield and composition. Essential oil yield varied in leaves, fruits and stems. So, in leaves, it was 0.5% for italica and 0.3% for baetica and was higher than in fruits and stems with respectively 0.1% and 0.04% for italica and 0.07% and 0.03% for baetica. The essential oil analysis performed by GC and GC/MS showed a composition characterized by a high percentage of monoterpene hydrocarbons in leaves, largely due to alpha-pinene with 51.3% for italica and 27.7% for baetica; 1,8-cineole, the alone compound of ether class, was predominant in fruits and stems with respectively 31.6% and 34.7% for italica and 19.8% and 25.8% for baetica.