Myrica species

Some Myrica species, also common in India, are well known ingredients of traditional medicine in the Far East and their piscidal activity has been reported (86). 

Bayberry wax, also known as myrtle or laurel wax, is obtained from the berries of various species of Myrica. The commercial wax, prepared from the berries of Myrica cerifera, may be obtained from chemical supply houses for about 0.60 per pound. The relative proportions of myristin and palmitin in bayberry wax varies somewhat, but these two compounds constitute about 95 per cent of the wax. 

Fig. 176.—Fructiferous branches of Myrica Caroliniensis (to left) and Myriad cerifera (to right) as they appear in early winter. The former species is deciduous, while the latter is evergreen. Collected by author at Wildwood, N. J., Dec. 16, 1914.

Anticancer activity was demonstrated in laboratory tests using extracts of leaves from a related species, Myrica gale, and a delphinidin (anthocyanin) extract showed anticancer and antiviral activity in test-tube experiments. 

Rare examples of cyclic diterpenes have been formd in a few Fucales, in particular some derivatives of dictyane in both species Sargassum crispum and Cystoseira myrica harvested at El-Zafrana in the Gulf of Suez. The last three derivatives are all alcohol acetates already identified in the cosmopolitan species Dictyota dichotoma (Ayyad et al., 2001, 2003b). 

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