Plant tissues of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) cultivars Dark Opal, Bolloso Napoletano, Largo Dolce per Vasi, Clasic, Thai Siam, Verde a Piccolo Fog lie, Greco a Palla, Red Rubin, Alla Canella, Genovese, Al Limone, Clasic (polish variety), Palla verde scuro and Fog lie di Latuga were steam distd. to recover volatile essentials oils (yields 0.3-0.8% for fresh plants and 0.8-1.6% for dried ones). The oils were then analyzed for chem. compn. by gas chromatog. with mass spectrometry. Linalool and eucalyptol were the main components of the oils.