Essential oils (EOs) from the leaves of one of the patchouli oil yielding wild species, Pogostemon plectranthoides (PP) collected from three bio-geographical regions in India namely, Western Ghats (WG), Central India (CI) and Northeast India (NEI) were characterized using GC-FID and GC-MS. Chemical analyses showed that the EOs were rich in sesquiterpenes and exhibited wide variation in the chemical compositions. A total of 90 volatile components in the oils were identified, of which only eight were present in the oils of all three regions. Tyrosinase inhibitory and anti-inflammatory activities of the EOs were studied using in vitro assays, which showed that all three oils exhibited both activities. However, the degree of activities varied. Studies on kinetic behavior of the EOs showed that the oils of PP from WG and Cl were mixed type inhibitors, whereas the oil from NEI was a competitive inhibitor. Among the EOs studied, the oil from NEI demonstrated high activities. The EO of PP may be used in cosmetics and skin care products as it exhibited tyrosinase inhibitory and anti-inflammatory activities. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.