Characterisation of volatiles and polyphenols for quality assessment of alcoholic beverages prepared from Corsican Myrtus communis berries

In the present work, the essential oil compositions of Myrtus communis berries from ten Corsican localities were studied and no chemical variability was observed. HS–SPME, GC and GC/MS analysis were carried out for the characterisation of volatile fractions of M. communis berries and two derived commercial alcoholic beverages (liqueur and eau-de-vie). Quantitative variations due to the distillation process were observed between the two beverages. The volatile compositions of Corsican myrtle alcoholic products were characterised by high amounts of monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes with α-pinene and 1,8-cineole as major components. The polyphenolic compositions of the berry extract and the liqueur were also established using HPLC–DAD and LC–MS–MS; high concentrations of flavonol glycosides, flavonols and flavanols were reported.