10.22376/ijpbs.2019.10.1.p1-12 Volume 8 Issue 2 2017 (April - June) The present study is comparative information of the essential oil composition of two commonly available species of lessThan i greaterThan Biophytum lessThan /i greaterThan , lessThan i greaterThan B. reinwardtii lessThan /i greaterThan and lessThan i greaterThan B. veldkampii lessThan /i greaterThan . It was noted that the flowers of lessThan i greaterThan B. reinwardtii lessThan /i greaterThan possessed a persistent and pleasant aroma and was intended to detect the phytochemicals responsible for this pleasant aroma lessThan i greaterThan . lessThan /i greaterThan The essential oils of both the species were extracted by hydro-distillation and the components analyzed by GC-MS. The identity of the components in the extract was assigned by the comparison of their retention indices and mass spectra fragmentation patterns with the NIST08 library source. The analysis of the floral oil of both species revealed the presence of many compounds [ lessThan i greaterThan B. veldkampii lessThan /i greaterThan (42) and lessThan i greaterThan B. reinwardtii lessThan /i greaterThan (36)], especially fatty acids such as n-Hexadecanoic acid, tetradecanoic acid and 9, 12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z, Z)-. The major component, however in both the species was n-Hexadecanoic acid [ lessThan i greaterThan B. reinwardtii lessThan /i greaterThan (42.32%) and lessThan i greaterThan B. veldkampii lessThan /i greaterThan (51.44%)]. The remaining compounds were present in trace quantities ( lessThan 10%) in both species. The essential oil of lessThan i greaterThan B. reinwardtii lessThan /i greaterThan contained certain sesquiterpenes such as alpha.-Bisabolol (5.97%), lessThan i greaterThan gamma lessThan /i greaterThan - lessThan i greaterThan eudesmol ( lessThan /i greaterThan 1.06%), .beta Bisabolene (0.69%), .alpha.-Farnesene (0.57%), Caryophyllene oxide (0.41%), Caryophyllene (0.37%), and cis alpha Bisabolene (0.30%) which are reported to be aromatic and are being widely used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries for various purposes. Since these compounds were absent in the essential oil of lessThan i greaterThan B. veldkampii lessThan /i greaterThan , it appears that these aromatic sesquiterpenes are responsible for the pleasant aroma of lessThan i greaterThan B. reinwardtii lessThan /i greaterThan flower. SREESHMA L S AND BINDU R NAIR Essential oil, GC-MS, Biophytum reinwardtii, B. veldkampii ,Sesquiterpenes 385-390