Composition and Anti-inflammatory Effect of the Common Myrtle’s (Myrtus communis L.) Essential Oil Growing Wild in Algeria

This study was designed to evaluate the chemical composition and anti-inflammatory activity of the common myrtle essential oil (Myrtus communisL.). The essential oil composition ofMyrtus communisL. extracted by steam distillation was characterized by a high oxygenated monoterpene fraction (80.9%). The major components were myrtenyl acetate (38.7%), eucalyptol (12.7%), α-pinene (13.7%), and linalool (7.00%). The chemical profile of this essential oil allows us to classify it as myrtényle acétate/α-pinène chemotype, but with atypical proportions, related to the harvesting area. In the carrageenan-induced paw edema, five different groups were established and the essential oil was administered orally in three different doses. The common myrtle essential oil (100 mg/kg) was able to reduce the paw edema, with a comparable effect to that observed with Diclofenac (positive control). This is the first report to demonstrate a significant anti-inflammatory activity of Algerian common myrtle essential oil.