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Fico, G.; Giuliani, C.; Bottoni, M.; , .; Todero, S.; Maggi, F.; Santagostini, L. Myrtus communis L. subsp. communis. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/21976 (accessed on 01 July 2024).
Fico G, Giuliani C, Bottoni M,  , Todero S, Maggi F, et al. Myrtus communis L. subsp. communis. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/21976. Accessed July 01, 2024.
Fico, Gelsomina, Claudia Giuliani, Martina Bottoni,  , Sefora Todero, Filippo Maggi, Laura Santagostini. "Myrtus communis L. subsp. communis" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/21976 (accessed July 01, 2024).
Fico, G., Giuliani, C., Bottoni, M., , ., Todero, S., Maggi, F., & Santagostini, L. (2022, April 20). Myrtus communis L. subsp. communis. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/21976
Fico, Gelsomina, et al. "Myrtus communis L. subsp. communis." Encyclopedia. Web. 20 April, 2022.
Myrtus communis L. subsp. communis
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This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/plants11060754

Myrtus communis subsp. communis is an evergreen shrub or a small tree, growing spontaneously throughout the Mediterranean basin. The stem is branched from the basal portion and the bark is brownish or reddish in color. The leaves are simple, opposite, sessile or sub-sessile, glossy, and dark green in color, lanceolate or ovoid-elliptical in shape with entire or slightly revolute margins and acute apices; they are very aromatic due to the presence of numerous secretory cavities. The flowers, white in color with yellowish streaks, are solitary or coupled at the leaf axil. The fruits are ellipsoidal or subspherical berries, red-violet or blackish in color at maturity, with persistent calyx residues.

myrtle botanic gardens secretory cavities essential oils α-pinene 1 8-cineole and linalool chemotype light microscopy GC-MS Open science

1. Introduction

Myrtle has a consolidated ethnobotanical tradition and is used in different parts of the world, against colds and coughs [1], for self-medication of digestive problems, for skin disorders [2], for the treatment of obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes [3][4]. The essential oils (EOs), obtained from shoots, leaves and sometimes flowers and berries, are used eminently in perfumery. The berries are also employed in the production of bitters and famous liquors. Due to its broad use in folk medicine, myrtle has been widely investigated, especially with regards to the EO composition [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. In Italy, previous studies were focused on plants from Sardinia, Sicily, Campania, and Liguria regions [8][9][12][13][14][15]. Concerning literature data on the micromorphology, previous investigations were focused on the structure and ontogeny of the secretory cavities of leaves and flowers by means of both light and electronic microscopy [16][17][18][19].

2. Micromorphological Investigation

The micromorphological survey showed the occurrence of secretory cavities both in the leaves and in the shoots. In the leaves these structures were variously distributed: in the palisade parenchyma, where they are located immediately below the adaxial epidermis; in the spongy parenchyma, and especially in the transition region with the palisade mesophyll or adjacent to the abaxial epidermis (Figure 1a,b). In the shoots, the cavities had a reduced diameter and generally occurred in the cortical parenchyma.
Plants 11 00754 g002 550
Figure 1. (a,b) Cross section of Myrtus communis subsp. communis leaf colorless (a) and stained with Toluidine blue dye, (b); (c) Detail of a leaf secretory cavity, colorless; (d) Detail of a shoot secretory cavity; (e–g) Histochemistry of secretory cavities: Nadi reagent (e), Fluoral Yellow-088 (f), AlCl3 (g). Scale bars = 100 µm (a,b); 25 µm (c,d,g); 50 µm (e,f).
The secretory cavities, regardless of the distribution pattern, were globose-spheroidal in shape and had a diameter ranging from 10 to 50 µm (Figure 1c). The cavities displayed a 1-layered epithelium consisting of secreting cells that released the secreted material inside the cavity (Figure 1d). The cavities generally appeared empty, but sometimes the accumulation of colorless or pale-yellow material was observed; the secreted material consisted of small, densely packed droplets or of large clusters which filled the entire volume of the cavity. These results are in accordance with those reported in the literature [16][19].
The histochemical tests revealed consistent results between the cavities of leaves and shoots (Figure 1e–g). All the dyes specific for lipophilic substances gave positive responses, with special reference to the NADI reagent indicating the presence of terpenes (Figure 1e,f). Furthermore, the production of flavonoids was for the first time highlighted in the cavities of M. communis subsp. communis following the treatment with AlCl3 (Figure 1g), while the tests specific for polysaccharides and proteins gave negative results.

3. Phytochemical Investigation

In 2018 the leaves were treated according to four different preparation methods and separately hydro-distilled: as fresh material (FL), after freezing at −20 °C (20FL), after freezing at −80 °C (80FL), and after air-drying at room temperature (DL). The profiles of the leaf EOs are reported in Table 1.

Table 1. GC-MS profiles of the essential oils obtained from the leaves of Myrtus communis subsp. communis collected in July 2018 following different preservation procedures: hydro-distillation as fresh material (FL), freezing at −20 °C (20FL), freezing at −80 °C (80FL), drying at room temperature (DL).
  LRI Class Compound Relative Abundance (%)
  FL 80FL 20FL DL
1 769 OTHER hexanal 0.1 tr 0.1 tr
2 844 OTHER 2-hexenal 0.6 0.3 1.2 0.6
3 912 OTHER isobutyric acid, isobutyl ester 1.0 0.4 0.9 1.1
4 927 MH α-thujene 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.6
5 935 MH α-pinene 38.6 36.2 41.2 41.6
6 961 MH camphene 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1
7 983 MH β-pinene 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.3
8 990 MH myrcene 0.6 0.2 0.3 0.3
9 1005 MH α-phellandrene 0.2 0.2 0.1 tr
10 1008 MH 3-carene 0.8 0.2 0.3 0.5
11 1019 MH α-terpinene 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
12 1028 AH o-cymene 0.1 - 0.3 0.5
13 1030 MH limonene - - 2.9 3.3
14 1036 MH cis-sabinene hydrate 0.7 - - -
15 1049 OM 1,8-cineole 31.0 25.5 28.2 26.1
16 1052 MH α-ocimene 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3
17 1064 MH γ-terpinene 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.4
18 1074 OM cis-linalool oxide 0.1 tr 0.2 0.3
19 1088 MH α-terpinolene 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.7
20 1100 OM linalool 10.7 28.6 18.7 18.2
21 1125 OM fenchol 0.1 tr tr -
22 1140 OM pinocarveol 0.2 tr 0.2 -
23 1143 OM nerol oxide 0.1 - - -
24 1154 OM pinocarvone 0.1 - - -
25 1159 OM δ-terpineol 0.1 tr - -
26 1162 OM borneol 0.1 tr - -
27 1168 OM terpinen-4-ol 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3
28 1202 OM α-terpineol 1.8 2.1 1.4 2.0
29 1248 OM linalyl acetate 0.9 0.6 0.4 0.8
30 1255 OM trans-geraniol 1.3 0.2 - -
31 1296 OM trans-pinocarvyl acetate 0.1 tr - -
32 1318 OM methyl geranate 0.1 tr - -
33 1347 OM α-terpinyl acetate 0.7 0.3 - -
34 1356 OM nerol acetate 0.5 0.2 - -
35 1376 OM geranyl acetate 0.8 0.8 - -
36 1402 OM methyleugenol 0.9 0.3 - -
37 1423 SH β-caryophyllene 1.0 0.4 0.5 0.6
38 1440 SH aromadendrene 0.1 - - -
39 1461 SH humulene 1.0 0.5 0.4 0.6
40 1492 OTHER 2-tridecanone 0.1 - - -
41 1518 OTHER durohydroquinone 0.8 0.7 - 0.7
42 1562 OS trans-nerolidol 0.4 - - -
43 1588 OS caryophyllene oxide 0.4 tr - -
44 1603 OS trans-bisabolene oxide 0.1 tr - -
45 1616 OS humulene oxide II 0.3 tr - -
46 1660 OTHER 5,8,11-heptadecatrien-1-ol 0.1 - - -
47 1705 OTHER methyl ketostearate tr 0.1 - -
      Oil yields 0.36% 0.46% 0.49% 1.08%
      Total identified 98.9 99.9 99.7 100.0
      Monoterpene hydrocarbons (MH) 42.9 38.5 47.2 48.2
      Oxygenated monoterpenes (OM) 50.0 59.0 49.2 47.7
      Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (SH) 2.1 0.9 0.9 1.3
      Oxygenated sesquiterpenes (OS) 1.1 0.1 tr tr
      Aromatic hydrocarbons (AH) 0.1 tr 0.3 0.5
      Other compounds (OTHER) 2.7 1.5 2.1 2.4
The main common compounds are highlighted in grey color. LRI = Linear Retention Index, experimentally obtained on a HP-5MS column using a C7–C30 mixture of n-alkanes.
The obtained oil yields ranged from 0.36% in the fresh samples up to 1.08% in the dried ones. The samples stored at −20 °C and at −80 °C showed similar values (0.49% and 0.46%).
The more complex profile, due to the presence of the highest number of total compounds, was that obtained from FL (46), followed by 80FL (38). The other two leaf samples displayed 26 (20FL) and 25 (DL) total compounds. However, the additional compounds in FL occurred in amounts ranging from 0.1% up to 0.9%.

References

  1. Loi, M.C.; Maxia, L.; Maxia, A. Ethnobotanical comparison between the villages of Escolca and Lotzorai (Sardinia, Italy). J. Herbs Spices Med. Plants 2005, 11, 67–84.
  2. Maxia, A.; Lancioni, M.C.; Balia, A.N.; Alborghetti, R.; Pieroni, A.; Loi, M.C. Medical ethnobotany of the Tabarkins, a Northern Italian (Ligurian) minority in south-western Sardinia. Gen. Res. Crop. Evol. 2008, 55, 911–924.
  3. Şenkardeş, I.; Tuzlacı, E. Some ethnobotanical notes from Gündoğmuş District (Antalya/Turkey). Clin. Exp. Health Sci. 2014, 4, 63–75.
  4. Sisay, M.; Gashaw, T. Ethnobotanical, ethnopharmacological, and phytochemical studies of Myrtus communis Linn: A popular herb in Unani system of medicine. J. Evid.-Based Complem. Altern. Med. 2017, 22, 1035–1043.
  5. Asllani, U. Chemical composition of albanian myrtle oil (Myrtus communis L.). J. Essent. Oil Res. 2000, 12, 140–142.
  6. Berka-Zougali, B.; Ferhat, M.A.; Hassani, A.; Chemat, F.; Allaf, K.S. Comparative study of essential oils extracted from Algerian Myrtus communis L. leaves using microwaves and hydrodistillation. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2012, 13, 4673–4695.
  7. Bouzabata, A.; Casanova, J.; Bighelli, A.; Cavaleiro, C.; Salgueiro, L.; Tomi, F. The genus Myrtus L. in Algeria: Composition and biologicala of essential oils from M. communis and M. nivellei: A review. Chem. Biodivers. 2016, 13, 672–680.
  8. Tuberoso, C.I.; Barra, A.; Angioni, A.; Sarritzu, E.; Pirisi, F.M. Chemical composition of volatiles in Sardinian myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) alcoholic extracts and essential oils. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2006, 54, 1420–1426.
  9. Usai, M.; Mulas, M.; Marchetti, M. Chemical composition of essential oils of leaves and flowers from five cultivars of myrtle (Myrtus communis L.). J. Essent. Oil Res. 2015, 27, 465–476.
  10. Taamalli, A.; Iswaldi, I.; Arráez-Román, D.; Segura-Carretero, A.; Fernández-Gutiérrez, A.; Zarrouk, M. UPLC–QTOF/MS for a rapid characterisation of phenolic compounds from Leaves of Myrtus communis L. Phytochem. Anal. 2013, 25, 89–96.
  11. Yoshimura, M.; Amakura, Y.; Tokuhara, M.; Yoshida, T. Polyphenolic compounds isolated from the leaves of Myrtus communis. J. Nat. Med. 2008, 62, 366–368.
  12. Flamini, G.; Cioni, L.; Morelli, I.; Maccioni, S.; Baldini, R. Phytochemical typologies in some populations of Myrtus communis L. on Caprione Promontory (East Liguria, Italy). Food Chem. 2004, 85, 599–604.
  13. Senatore, F.; Formisano, C.; Napolitano, F.; Rigano, D.; Özcan, M. Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oil of Myrtus communis L. growing wild in Italy and Turkey. J. Essent. Oil Bear. Plants 2006, 9, 162–169.
  14. Siracusa, L.; Napoli, E.; Tuttolomondo, T.; Licata, M.; LaBella, S.; Gennaro, M.C.; Leto, C.; Sarno, M.; Sperlinga, E.; Ruberto, G. A two-year bio-agronomic and chemotaxonomic evaluation of wild sicilian myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) berries and leaves. Chem. Biodivers. 2019, 16, e1800575.
  15. Maggio, A.; Loizzo, M.R.; Riccobono, L.; Bruno, M.; Tenuta, M.C.; Leporini, M.R. Comparative chemical composition and bioactivity of leaves essential oils from nine Sicilian accessions of Myrtus communis L. J. Essent. Oil Res. 2019, 31, 546–555.
  16. Ciccarelli, D.; Pagni, A.M.; Andreucci, A.C. Ontogeny of secretory cavities in vegetative parts of Myrtus communis L. (Myrtaceae): An example of schizolysigenous development. Israel J. Plant Sci. 2003, 51, 193–198.
  17. Ciccarelli, D.; Andreucci, A.C.; Pagni, A.M.; Garbari, F. Structure and development of the elaiosome in Myrtus communis L. (Myrtaceae) seeds. Flora 2005, 200, 326–331.
  18. Ciccarelli, D.; Garbari, F.; Pagni, A.M. The flower of Myrtus communis (Myrtaceae): Secretory structures, unicellular papillae, and their ecological role. Flora 2008, 203, 85–93.
  19. Kalachanis, D.; Psaras, G.K. Structure and development of the secretory cavities of Myrtus communis leaves. Biol. Plant. 2005, 49, 105–110.
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Subjects: Plant Sciences
Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
Gelsomina Fico
,
Claudia Giuliani
,
Martina Bottoni
,
,
Sefora Todero
,
Filippo Maggi
,
Laura Santagostini
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Update Date: 21 Apr 2022
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