abstract variations in the essential oil composition of leviticum officinale w.d.j. koch from different european countries were determined using capillary gc and gc/ms methods. the oils were obtained in yields of 0.11-1.80% from dried cut roots and 0.09% from leaves. a total of 48 components were identified, representing over 87% of the total yield of oil. ten compounds not earlier reported: trans-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol, iso-thujyl alcohol, p-mentha-1,5-dien-8-ol, bicyclo[3.2.0]heptan-3-ol, 2-methylene-6,6-dimethyl, trans-carveol, perillaldehyde, sabinyl acetate, perillyl alcohol, methyl ester of methylpentadecate acid, and methyl hexadecadienate acid. the principal components in the oils of l. officinale roots were -phellandrene (0.1-48.9%), pentylcyclohexadiene (0-12.3%), trans-sabinyl acetate (0-12.1%), -terpinyl acetate (0-26.1%), (z)-3-butylidene phthalide (0.1-31.2%), and (z)-ligustilide (0.2-70.9%). phthalide isomers were predominant (73.2-82.6%) in the oils from estonia, france, and belgium. the roots oil of l. officinale from scotland was rich in -phellandrene (48.9%) and phenylacetaldehyde (17.2%). maximum content of trans-sabinyl and -terpinyl acetates (total 38.2%) was found in the oil from holland. estonian l. officinale root oil contained in high quantities (e)-ligustilide (52.4-70.9%) and pentylcyclohexadiene (12.3%). the l. officinale leaf oil cultivated in estonia contained in high amounts -terpinyl acetate (55.8%) and -phellandrene (11.3%). the content of (z)-ligustilide (17.0%) in the leaf oil was smaller compared with the root oil.