Ten Italian cultivars of basil were studied to establish a possible relation between morphological characteristics and essential oil composition. The morphological parameters were recorded at the beginning of the flowering stage and the essential oils, obtained by hydrodistillation, were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Among the cultivars, four phenotypes were distinguished on the basis of leaf size, shape, and color and plant height, weight, branching, and leafing. The composition of essential oils, all characterized by a high content of linalool, included three chemotypes:  “linalool,” “linalool and methylchavicol,” and “linalool and eugenol”. Two chemotypes each had their own suite of morphological characters, whereas two groups of cultivars, with different morphological parameters belonged to the same chemotype. Keywords: Basil cultivars; Ocimum basilicum L.; morphological characteristics; essential oil composition; chemotypes

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Essential oil samples of Menfha x piperita L. (peppermint) were analysed by GC-MS and assayed for their antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activities. The steam-distilled oil samples were obtained from autumn and spring planted crops which were treated with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers at different rates. The oil samples from spring planted crops had a significantly higher menthol and lower terpinen-4-01 concentrations than those from autumn planted crops. Mineral fertilization seemed to increase the content of menthol in the oil, and decreased that of menthone and 8-caryophyllene. The oil samples showed a different degree of inhibition against the twenty-five microorganisms tested. Some differences were found between the oil samples from autumn and spring planted crops, the former being more active against some microorganisms, and the oil samples from fertilized peppermint seemed to be, on the whole, slightly more effective. Peppermint oil exhibited a marked antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger.

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