A Two‐Year Bio‐Agronomic and Chemotaxonomic Evaluation of Wild Sicilian Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) Berries and Leaves

Abstract

A collection of nine Myrtus communis samples from different localities of Sicily was evaluated. Morphological traits and production characteristics have been chosen as parameters to arrange the samples into homogeneous groups and to identify the best biotypes for possible future agro‐industrial exploitation. The plant material has been subjected to taxonomic characterization from biometric and phytochemical perspectives. Myrtle berries and leaves have been analyzed for their content in metabolites, applying a cascade extraction protocol for M. communis leaves and a single hydroalcoholic extraction for berries, whereas hydrodistillation procedures have been applied to obtain the essential oils from berries and leaves. The analyses of non‐volatile components were carried out by LC‐UV‐DAD‐ESI‐MS. All the extracts were characterized by the presence of numerous polyphenols, namely highly hydroxylated flavonols such as quercetin and myricetin; and ellagic acid detected in all samples. In addition, myrtle berries contained nine different anthocyanins, namely delphinidin, petunidin, cyanidin and malvidin derivatives. The essential oils (EOs) were analyzed by a combination of GC‐FID and GC/MS. A total of 33 and 34 components were fully characterized with the predominance of α‐pinene, myrtenyl acetate, linalool, 1,8‐cineole and linalyl acetate. All phytochemical profiles were subjected to cluster analyses, which allowed subdividing the myrtle samples in different chemical groups.

Phenolic Profile and Antioxidant Capacity of Selected Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Diversity upon Plant Species and Extraction Technique

“…The fragmentation pattern of anthocyanins is consistent with previously reported data [38,47]. Maldini et al (2016) [47], Sarais et al (2016) [66], Scorrano et al (2017) [67] and Siracusa et al (2019) [68] reported that anthocyanins in myrtle berries are mainly represented by delphinidine-3-O-glucoside, petunidin-3-O-glucoside, malvidine-3-O-glucoside, and peonidine-3-glucoside, followed by cyanidine-3-glucoside, delphinidinpentoside and petunidin-pentoside. Content of total ANT in analyzed extracts of myrtle berries was in range from 297.38 to 947.13 mg/100 g dm.…”

Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) berries, seeds, leaves, and essential oils: New undiscovered sources of natural compounds with promising health benefits

“…Concerning leaves composition, the concentration of total polyphenols and flavonoids varies from 31.25 to 298.63 mg GAE/g and from 129.96 to 376.82 mg/g, respectively, according to the myrtle variety and the methods applied for extraction and analysis (Amensour et al., 2010; Özcan et al., 2020). In particular, lignans (i.e., secoisolariciresinol hexoside), tannins (i.e., eugeniflorin D2, tellimagrandin I and II, and oenothein B), flavonoids (i.e., (+)‐catechin, quercetin 3‐O‐rhamnoside, quercetin‐galactoside‐gallate, (–)‐epigallocatechin, (–)‐epigallocatechin 3‐ O ‐gallate, myricetin galactoside, myricetin 3‐O‐rhamnoside, myricetin arabinoside, and kaempferol‐ O ‐galloyl‐hexoside), phenolic acids (i.e., ellagic acid and derivatives, gallic acid and galloyl derivatives, syringic acid, t‐ferulic acid, and caffeic acid), and gallomyrtucommulones (i.e., gallomyrtucommulone A and C) are the main phytochemicals found in myrtle leaf extracts (Babou et al., 2016; Özcan et al., 2020) (Figure 4; Pereira et al., 2016, 2017; Siracusa et al., 2019; Taamalli et al., 2014; Viuda‐Martos et al., 2011; Yoshimura, Amakura, Tokuhara, & Yoshida, 2008).…”

“…Most common monoterpenes and sesquiterpenoids found in myrtle-derived essential oils petunidin 3-O-glucoside, malvidin 3-O-glucoside, and peonidin 3-Oglucoside, followed by cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, delphinidin-pentose, and petunidin-pentose (Maldini et al, 2016;Montoro et al, 2006;Pereira, Cebola, Oliveira, & Gil, 2016, 2017Sarais et al, 2016;Scorrano et al, 2017;Siracusa et al, 2019) (Figure 3; Snoussi et al, 2012;Tuberoso et al, 2010).…”

“…Concerning leaves composition, the concentration of total polyphenols and flavonoids varies from 31.25 to 298.63 mg GAE/g and from 129.96 to 376.82 mg/g, respectively, according to the myrtle variety and the methods applied for extraction and analysis Özcan et al, 2020 (Babou et al, 2016;Özcan et al, 2020) (Figure 4; Pereira et al, 2016Pereira et al, , 2017Siracusa et al, 2019;Taamalli et al, 2014;Viuda-Martos et al, 2011;Yoshimura, Amakura, Tokuhara, & Yoshida, 2008).…”

“…Specifically, the phytochemical composition of myrtle berries is characterized by the dominant presence of anthocyanins, which confer the purple‐dark color to the fruits and contribute to the health effects of myrtle, thanks to their antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, antitumoral, and lipid‐lowering effects, among others (Afrin et al., 2020; Battino et al., 2019; Forbes‐Hernandez et al., 2020). In myrtle berry, these bioactive compounds are mainly represented by delphinidin 3‐ O ‐glucoside, petunidin 3‐ O ‐glucoside, malvidin 3‐ O ‐glucoside, and peonidin 3‐ O ‐glucoside, followed by cyanidin 3‐ O ‐glucoside, delphinidin–pentose, and petunidin–pentose (Maldini et al., 2016; Montoro et al., 2006; Pereira, Cebola, Oliveira, & Gil, 2016, 2017; Sarais et al., 2016; Scorrano et al., 2017; Siracusa et al., 2019) (Figure 3; Snoussi et al., 2012; Tuberoso et al., 2010).…”