Morphological and chemical characterization of two wild Tunisian myrtle (<i>Myrtus communis</i> L.) populations

Abstract

Myrtle is an aromatic and medicinal shrub growing wild in the Mediterranean regions. The objective of this study was to determine qualitative and quantitative morphological characteristics and to analyze the biochemical composition of two wild Tunisian myrtle populations from Bizerte (BM) and Haouaria (HM). These two populations presented the same vegetative characters but with some morphological differences such as the bigger size of BM fruits and leaves. The biochemical characterization revealed that there was an increase in the production of phenols during flowering in both populations, and there was a significant variation in their levels in the various organs. The phenolic fraction of myrtle leaf and the fruit was rich in tannins while the stem was rich in flavonoids. Methanol extracts of different myrtle parts, especially leaf, presented strong antioxidant activities.