The flavour compound 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzaldehyde from normal roots of swallow root (Decalepis hamiltonii) raised in vitro was extracted with dichloromethane, evaporated to dryness and dissolved in ethanol for qualitative (TLC) and quantitative (GC-MS) analysis. Maximum root biomass and the maximum content of flavour compound (40 ± 2.1 µg g −1 dry weight) were recorded after 45 days of growth on Murashige and Skoog medium containing 1.0 mg l −1 α-naphthaleneacetic acid.