Abstract The chemical composition of the hydrodistilled essential oils obtained from the fresh (sample A) and air-dried flowers of Cynara cardunculus L. (sample B) was determined by GC/MS. In sample A, 25 compounds were identified of which hexadecanoic acid (27.6%), methyl hexadecanoate (9.3%) and methyl 9,12-octadecadienoate (12.6%) were the major components. In sample B, 21 compounds were identified, with hexadecanoic acid (51.8%), tetradecanoic acid (8.8%) and dodecanoic acid (8.7%) predominating.