Aromatic Plants of Mali (I): Chemical Composition of Essential Oils of<i>Ocimum basilicum</i>L.

Abstract

Abstract In a study of the chemical composition of oil from 24 samples of fresh or dried Ocimum basilicum we identified 53 components. All the oils were of the linalool chemotype, but four subtypes could be identified, unlinked to harvest location: oils containing 60–70% linalool and principally eugenol (5–15%), and oils with less than 60% linalool containing much eugenol, methyl eugenol or methyl chavicol. The often high proportions of these components (20–30%) distinguish these oils from others described previously.