Studies on the essential oil-bearing plants of Bangladesh. Part VIII. Composition of some Ocimum oils O. basilicum L. var. purpurascens; O. sanctum L. green; O. sanctum L. purple; O. americanum L., citral type; O. americanum L., camphor type

The essential oils of Ocimum basilicum L. var. purpurascens, O. sanctum L. green, O. sanctum L. purple, O. americanum L. (citral type) and, O. americanum L. (camphor type) obtained from plants grown in Bangladesh were analysed by GC and GC–MS. The oil obtained from O. basilicum L. var. purpurascens was classified as a monoterpene alcohol‐type according to its monoterpene alcohol content (64.5%); the oil obtained from O. Sanctum L. green was classified as a eugenol/sesquiterpene‐type according to its content of eugenol (41.7%) and of sesquiterpene components (45.9%); while the oil from O. sanctum purple was classified as an eugenol‐type according to its content of eugenol (77.5%). One of the two O. americanum was classified as a citral‐type oil, according to its content of neral (27.9%) and geranial (37.7%), whereas the other oil of the same species was characterized by a high content of camphor (38.6%). Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.