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Lippia alba Mill. N. E. Br (Verbenaceae) is an aromatic shrub widely distributed in Brazil where the infusion of its leaves is used in folk medicine due to sedative and antispasmodic properties. This study presents data about quantitative variation of the major volatile constituents of the linalool producing L. alba chemotype. The volatiles were extracted by solid phase microextraction (SPME) from plants cultivated in soil (mother plants), from in vitro plantlets grown in Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium and from in vitro plantlets grown in MS medium with growth regulators. The content of α-pinene, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and α-gurjunene was greater in the mother plants than in plantlets, whereas the content of sabinene, myrcene, 1,8-cineole and p-mentha-1,5,8-triene was lower. The addition of 0.23 µM of IAA to the medium significantly enhanced sabinene and myrcene contents. The addition of 0.92 µM of kinetin significantly increased the 3(S)-(+)-linalool level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]