Constituents of the essential oil of myrtus communis L. from Iran

The main constituents of the essential oil from Myrtus communis L. from Iran are the monoterpenes α‐pinene (35%), 1,8‐cineole (28%), limonene (11%), linalol (9%), α‐terpineol (5%), and linalyl acetate (2%). In the distillation residue of the oil some trace constituents were identified: 3,3,5,5,8,8‐hexamethyl‐7‐oxabicyclo[4,3.0] non‐1(6)‐ene‐2,4‐dione (1), the 4‐isobutyl‐ (2) and 4‐isobutenyl‐5‐acetoxy‐4‐hydroxy‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylcyclohexan‐1,3‐dione (3), 4‐acetoxy‐3‐hydroxy‐3‐senecioyl‐2,2,5,5‐tetramethylcyclopentan‐1‐one (4), the known peroxide 5 (G3), and, obviously as artefacts, the (Z)‐ and (E)‐4‐(2‐hydroxy‐2‐methylpropylidene)‐2,2,5,5‐tetramethylcyclopentan‐l,3‐dione (6). The structures of the compounds 1–6 were confirmed by their 1H‐ and 13C‐NMR spectra.