the chemical variability of the essential oils isolated from myrtus communis l. leaves and fruits collected from the north western algeria was evaluated along with a hydrodistillation time-course study of the essential oil main components. m. communis essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (gc) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (gc-ms). the essential oils yields ranged between 0.28% and 0.77% (w/d.w.). although in variable ranges the leaf (l) and the fruits (f) essential oils were characterized by the dominance of the same compounds: -pinene (23-49% and 21-43% for l and f, respectively), 1,8-cineole (10-24% and 5-31% for l and f, respectively); limonene (11-30% and 9-35% for l and f, respectively); and linalool (2-32% and 1-7% for l and f, respectively). for the first time, algerian linalool-rich myrtle essential oils (>30%) are described. higher relative amounts of -pinene, 1,8-cineole, limonene and linalool can be obtained with shorter distillation times.