Abstract: The essential oil components were analyzed in Melissa officinalis Linn by both GC-MS and retention indices at the same time. Essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from dried aerial part of M. officinalis Linn collected from Xinjiang province (western China), was analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID), gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and all components’ retention indices. Twenty-eight constituents were accurately detected from the essential oil, accounting for 99.02% of the total amount. The quantitatively significant constituents of the essential oil were (E)-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadien-1-ol acetate (26.48%), (Z)-citral (15.46%), (E)-nerol (14.51%), (E)-citral (14.43%), isoanisole (7.88%), palmitic acid (6.93%) and (Z)-nerol (2.56%). The components of M. officinalis Linn essential oil were complicated and were dominated by mono- and sesquiterpene compounds, which were maybe the main biological activities.

Key words: Melissa officinalis Linn, essential oil, GC-MS, retention indices