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 (1l-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 < 0.001). The content of 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 < 0.001). In the Chinese berries, the contents of methyl-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.