water-soluble essential oil components of osmanthus fragrans fresh flowers were recovered from the hydrolate and the cold infusion, byproducts of essential oil isolation and concrete extraction, respectively. chemical investigation was performed by gas chromatography (gc) and gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (gc-ms). as a comparative study, the clevenger-distilled, decanted and absolute oils were also analyzed. the oil recovered from the hydrolate was mainly composed of cis-linalool oxide (furanoid) (51.4%) and trans-linalool oxide (furanoid) (37.8%). this oil presented 0.024 +/- 0.004% (w/w) relative to the fresh flowers, and accounted for 25.5 +/- 5.8% of the total oil (decanted + recovered). the oil recovered from the cold infusion was rich in 4-methoxyphenethyl alcohol (31.0%), 4-hydroxyphenethyl alcohol (18.0%), cis-linalool oxide (furanoid) (9.8%), cis-linalool oxide (pyranoid) (8.9%) and trans-linalool oxide (furanoid) (7.3%). this oil accounted for 0.018 +/- 0.003% (w/w) of the fresh flowers. in summary, the recovered water-soluble oils are valued for being rich in compounds characteristic of o. fragrans and can find applications in the essential oil industry.