Abstract The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of the aerial parts of Pimpinella anisactis Rech.f., and Pimpinella saxifraga L., were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The oil of P. anisactis was characterized by higher amounts of decanal (34.5%) and decanal (14.1%), which were among the 30 components comprising 96.3% of the total oil detected. Twenty-four compounds representing 90.0% of the oil of P. saxifraga were identified, trans-Î±-bergamotene (20.1%), Î²-sesquiphellandrene (10.8%) and Î²-bisabolene (10.1%) being the major ones. The composition of both oils differs quantitatively and qualitatively.