Seven types of Ocinuun, two from O. americanum, two from O. gratissimum, two
from O. sanctum and one from O. basilicum var. purpurascens, were studied for their
morphological differences, essential oil content and compositions. The oils were analyzed by GC
and GC/MS. All the types differ from one another in respect of their morphological characters as
well as their chemical constituents. Essential oil of the camphor type of O. americanum contains
camphor (40.3%) followed by limonene (8.8%) and oc-pinene (6.1%) as major constituents and
the citral type of O. americanum contains citral (63.4%) and linalool (7.0%) as major
components. The oil of O. gratissimum contains thymol (58.2%), y-terpinene (12.3%), p-cymene
(7.7%) and the var. clocimum of O. gratissimum contains eugenol (66.5%) and 0-ocimene
(18.1%) as major components. The major components of O. sanctum (green) are eugenol
(36.5%), P-caryophyllene (24.3%) and P-elememe (12.2%) and those of O. sanctum (purple) are
eugenol (77.5%) and (E)-caryophyllene (10.7%). The oil of O. basillicum var. purpurascens
contains linalool (30.8%), geraniol (28.8%) and geranyl acetate (14.1%) as major components.