Abstract The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of staminate inï¬orescences of kewda ( Pandanus odoratissimus L.) has been compared with the kewda oil from the local market. Both the oils were subjected to highâresolution GC and GCâMS, which resulted in the identiï¬cation and quantiï¬cation of 85 and 59 components, amounting to 98.7% and 98.6% of the total oils, respectively. The major components of the hydrodistilled kewda oil were 2âphenyl ethyl methyl ether (37.7%), terpinenâ4âol (18.6%), Î± âterpineol (8.3%) and 2âphenyl ethyl alcohol (7.5%), whereas the major constituents of kewda oil from the local market were 2âphenyl ethyl alcohol (33.2%), 2âphenyl ethyl methyl ether (16.1%), benzyl benzoate (11.0%), viridine (8.8%) and germacrene B (8.3%). Copyright Â© 2004 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.