pharmacognostical study of Myrtus communis L. cultivated in Egypt

The macro- and micromorphology of the root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit and seed of Myrtus communis L. are presented with view of finding out the diagnostic characters for the identification of these organs in both the entire and powdered forms. The major constituents among components of the volatile oil of the leaf were phellandrene [20%], alpha-thujene [12.8%], cismyrtanol [10%], trans-farnesene [5.9%] and bornyl acetate [5.9%], while beta-caryophyllene [17.8%], methyl eugenol [12.5%], camphor [12.2%], trans-anethole [11.8%] and 1,8-cineole [4.3%] were the major compounds identified in the volatile oil of the flower. Seasonal variation of the volatile oil of the leaf and antimicrobial activity were also investigated

Essential oils of lavendula species growing in Yemen

The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from Lavendula atriplicifolia Benth and Lavendula pubescens Decne growing wild in Yemen, were analyzed by GC/MS. The study revealed that caryophyllene oxide I, methyl eugenol, trans-linalool and carvacrol were the major components in case of L. atriplicifolia constituting 55.5% of the oil, while the major components in the oil of L. pubescens were carvacrol, camphor, caryophyllene oxide I and p-cymene-8-ol representing 83.14% of the total oil. Both oils exhibited a moderate antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as fungi