Myrtus communis is a common species in tropical and subtropical regions. Myrtle is cultivated as an ornamental plant in areas with a temperate climate, such as Ukraine. It was introduced to the Nikitskyi Botanical Garden in 1967. The pharmacological properties of galenic preparations derived from Myrtus communis are primarily determined by the presence of essential oils. Galenic preparations from myrtle leaves have general tonic, antimicrobial (notably demonstrating high bactericidal activity against gram-positive bacteria and antibiotic and resistant strains, Mycobacterium tuberculosis), analgesic, astringent, expectorant, and anti-inflammatory effects. For a comprehensive study of this plant, it is essential to investigate the volatile fractions of its raw material.

The aim of the work is to conduct a chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of the chemical composition of Myrtus communis L. leaf essential oil.

Materials and methods. The object of the study is the essential oil of Myrtus communis, cultivated at the Department of Pharmacognosy, Pharmacology and Botany of Zaporizhzhia State Medical and Pharmaceutical University, and obtained through hydrodistillation. Qualitative and quantitative determination of the essential oil components was carried out using the chromatography-mass spectrometric method on a high-performance gas chromatograph “Agilent 7890B GC System” (Agilent, SantaClara, CA, USA) with a mass spectrometric detector “Agilent 5977 BGC/MSD” (Agilent, SantaClara, CA, USA) and a DB-5ms chromatographic column (30 m × 250 μm × 0.25 μm). The component identification was performed using the NIST14 mass spectral library.

Results. Chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis revealed the presence of 42 key volatile compounds in Myrtus communis leaf essential oil, three of which were in isomeric forms. The five major components were myrtenyl acetate (24.12 %), linalool (16.73 %), cyclofenchene (10.37 %), o-xylene (7.85 %) and myrtenol (4.35 %). Terpenes were identified as the dominant group in Myrtus communis leaves, comprising 72.04 %.

Conclusions. The chemical composition of Myrtus communis leaf essential oil showed some differences compared to literature data that deal with geographical features (temperature, soil quality, day length), harvesting time and genotype variations. The research findings can serve as a basis for developing new pharmaceutical and cosmetic products containing myrtle essential oil. Besides, the analysis of the chemical composition of the essential oil can contribute to improving extraction technology and standardizing essential oils.