Abstract Inositols and methylinositols play an important role in human physiology. Inositols and methylinositols in berries of three subspecies of sea buckthorn ( Hippophae rhamnoides ) were analysed using gas chromatography combined with a flame ionisation detector and mass spectrometry. The wild Chinese berries ( H. rhamnoides ssp. sinensis ) contained higher levels of l -quebrachitol (1 l -2- O -methyl- chiro -inositol) and methyl- myo -inositol (average 615 and 58 mg/100 ml juice, respectively) than the Finnish ( H. rhamnoides ssp. rhamnoides , 276 and 11 mg/100 ml juice, respectively) and the Russian ( H. rhamnoides ssp. mongolica , 228 and 16 mg/100 ml juice, respectively) berries ( P myo -inositol was higher in the Chinese and the Russian berries than in the Finnish berries (26 and 20 mg/100 ml juice vs. 8 mg/100 ml juice, P myo -inositol and l -quebrachitol increased, whereas that of myo -inositol decreased from late September to late November. The content of the l -quebrachitol in the Chinese berries correlated negatively with the air temperature and the number of frost-free days, suggesting a possible role of the compound in the cold resistance of sea buckthorn.