Chemical composition and antioxidant activities of Myrtus communis L. berries extracts

Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) berries extracts were prepared with solvents at different polarity (water, ethanol, and ethyl acetate) and analysed using different in vitro tests in order to evaluate their antioxidant properties. Antiradical and total antioxidant activities were measured with DPPH and FRAP tests, respectively. Their ability to protect biological molecules was assessed using the cholesterol and LDL oxidation assays. In addition, phenolic compounds and unsaturated fatty acids composition was analysed by HPLC–DAD and HPLC–MS/MS. Ethanol and water extracts showed the highest amount of extracted compounds, but the highest antiradical and antioxidant activities were found in ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts. These extracts were also the ones with the highest content of phenolic compounds. In addition, our results showed a highly significant correlation between the amount of total phenols and antiradical (R2 = 0.9993) or antioxidant activities (R2 = 0.9985) in these extracts. HPLC–DAD and HPLC–MS analyses showed significant quantitative and qualitative differences among these three extracts. The ethyl acetate extract had the highest protective effect in assays of thermal (140 °C) cholesterol degradation and Cu2+-mediated LDL oxidation, inhibiting the reduction of polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol, and the increase of their oxidative products. These results suggest that because of these properties, myrtle berries could be used in dietary supplements preparations or as food additives.