IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTITATION OF POLYPHENOLS IN LEAVES OF MYRTUS COMMUNIS L.

A liquid-solid extraction and purification procedure (LSE) was developed to identify and quantify polyphenols in the leaf tissue of Myrtus communis L. Identification and quantitation of individual compounds was performed using HPTLC, HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS analysis. Leaves of Myrtus communis L. contain small amounts of phenolic acids (caffeic, ellagic and gallic acids) and quercetin derivatives (quercetin 3-O-galactoside and quercetin 3-O-rhamnoside), whereas catechin derivatives (epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin 3- O-gallate, epicatechin 3-O-gallate) and myricetin derivatives (myricetin 3-O-galactoside, myricetin 3-0- rhamnoside) are present in large amounts. This is the first report on the occurrence of galloyl-derivatives of catechin and gallo-catechin in Myrtus communis L. leaves.