abstract the chemical constituents of the essential oil of zataria multiflora boiss. (labiatae) have been investigated by means of gc, gc/ms, 1h- and 13c-nmr techniques. the oil isolated from aerial parts of the plant consisted mostly of carvacrol (62.4%), methyl carvacrol (6.5%), carvacrol acetate (4.4%), p-cymene (7.1%) and -terpinene (5.6%). among the sesquiterpenes identified in this oil, 9-aristolen-l-ol (1.6%) was the most abundant compound.