Myrtus communis essential oils: insecticidal, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities: a review

Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) is a wild aromatic plant that laboratorial works have demonstrated the insecticidal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of myrtle essential oils (EOs). The chemical composition may change according to several factors; nevertheless, it was constant in practically all EOs the presence of 1,8-cineole and alpha-pinene, as main components (>5%). The biological activities, generally low or moderate depended on the organism (insecticidal) and microorganism and on the chemical composition. Generally, the contribution of the components on the biological activities was not determined; nevertheless, they were generally attributed to the presence of the main components (1,8-cineole, alpha-pinene, eugenol, methyleugenol, myrtenyl acetate, among other components depending on the property). The antioxidant activity of myrtle oil was predominantly determined in cell-free methods, though very few works also used cell model methods. In all cases, the activities were also low to moderate due to the absence of phenol compounds.