abstract the composition of essential oil samples obtained by hydrodistillation of the aerial parts of marrubium anisodon c. koch and marrubium propinquum fisch. et c.a. mey. (family labiatae), were investigated by gc and gc/ms. fifteen components in the oil of m. anisodon representing 93.6% of the total oil, and 17 components in the oil of m. propinquum, representing 96% of the total oil, were identified. both oils were characterized by a high amount of sesquiterpenes (68.8% and 92.8%, respectively) with germacrene d (44.2%) and -caryophyllene (10.4%) as the major constituents of m. anisodon and (e)--farnesene (43.8%), -caryophyllene (20.1%) and germacrene d (15.8%) as the major component of m. propinquum.