Chemical Composition of Myrtus communis L. (Myrtaceae) Fruits

The chemical composition of Myrtus communis L. extracts were prepared and analyzed by GC-MS. Sixteen phytochemical constituents of chemical compounds were identified in fruits of Myrtus communis. The relative percentage of linoleic acid methyl ester was high (27.19%), followed by oleic acid methyl ester (21.18%) and then octane 3,5dimethyl (16.47%), dodecane (11.39%), palmitic acid methyl ester (6.80%) and tetradecane (6.69%) as well as, some components present in lower percentage such as stearic acid methyl ester (3.32%).


INTRODUCTION
Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) is an aromatic evergreen perennial shrub or small tree belonging to the Myrtaceae family that includes 130-140 genera and about 3000 -4000 species growing in temperate, tropical and subtropical regions [1][2][3]. It is native plant in Mediterranean Original Research Article region and Southern Europe. It grows wild in Africa, Europe and Asia including Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria [4][5][6][7][8]. Myrtus communis L. is an evergreen aromatic plant growing wild in Iraq and cultivated in gardens [9].
Different parts of Myrtus communis fruits, leaves and branches have been used as a folk medicine for the treatment of various diseases. It is used as a stringent, antiseptic hemostatic, blood purifier, laxative, anti-diarrheal, hepatoprotective, analgesic, anti hemorrhagic and antihyperglycemic vaginal lavage, enemas or hair tonic with emetic effects and hypolipemic activities. It is also used to treat peptic ulcers, bleeding, headache, palpitation, leucorrhoea, urethritis, conjunctivitis, pulmonary, analgesic, anti hemorrhagic, wound healing skin diseases and respiratory diseases [1, .
The aims of this paper are to determine some chemical components of pickling herbs and Myrtus communis L. fruits using GC-MS.

Plant Material
Myrtus communis L. fruits were collected from the north of Iraq and air dried. The powdered fruits (150 g) were extracted using 500 mL of nhexane via a Soxhlet apparatus for 48 hours. The extracts were concentrated with a rotary evaporator.

Gas Chromatography-MS Analysis
GC-MS analysis was carried out in University of Basrah, College of Agriculture, Iraq using a Shimadzu GC-QP 2010 ultra-gas chromatograph. The GC oven temperature was programmed from 40°C to 280°C at a rate of 15°C/min. Helium was used as a carrier gas. The inlet pressure was 96.1 kPa. The linear velocity was 47.2 cm/sec. The column flow was 1.71 mL/min, and the injector temperature was 280°C with split injection mode. The MS scan conditions included the following: source temperature, 200°C; interface temperature, 280°C; detector gain, 0.69 kV +0.10 kV; scan speed, 1666; range 50 m/z to, 800 m/z. The components of the Myrtus communis were identified by comparing the spectra with known compounds stored in the NIST library (2005).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The GC-MS chromatogram of Myrtus communis fruit extract ( Fig. 1; Table1) showed sixteen peaks indicating the presence of sixteen compounds (phytochemical constituents). The identification of the phytochemical compounds was confirmed based on the molecular formula, peak area and retention time.

CONCLUSION
GC-MS analysis revealed that 16 different chemical components were identified in the Myrtus communis, with high amount of linoleic acid (27.19%) helpful in revealing the pharmaceutical value of the plant. it also provides information about its trado-medical use. GC-MS analysis is important step towards understanding the nature of active ingredients in this medicinal plant and mentioned phytocompounds would be useful in the preparation of novel drugs for treating diseases.

COMPETING INTERESTS
Authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Variations in essential oil and fatty acid