baccharis dracunculifolia is a shrub native to brazil and an important botanical source for propolis production. the essential oil from the leaves of b. dracunculifolia dc (asteraceae), popularly known as broom oil, presents pharmacological activities and is a raw material in the perfumery and cosmetics industries. the isolation of its major constituent, nerolidol, to a high purity (92.5-93.7%) was possible through the countercurrent chromatography technique. the countercurrent chromatography biphasic solvent system chosen was a mixture of hexane:methanol:water (5:4:1, v/v/v). isocratic elution was conducted in a tail-to-head manner.