CHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF OCIMUM SPECIES GROWING IN TOGO

The steam-distilled leaf and flower oils of Ocimum basilicum L., Ocimu m canum Sims and Ocimum gratissimum L., collected from 14 different lo cations in Togo, have been studied. Capillary gas-liquid chromatograph y and capillary gas-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry were used to determine the percentage composition of these essential oils. The oils from O. basilicum mainly contained either estragole or a lin alol-estragole mixture. In those from Ocimum canum, terpin-4-ol, linal ol, Upsilon-terpinene and the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (beta-caryoph yllene, (E)-alpha-bergamotene and bicyclogermacrene) were the major co mpounds, Thymol, Upsilon-terpinene and beta-cymene were identified as the most abundant constituents in the Ocimum gratissimum oils. (C) 199 8 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.