In this study, we determined the effect of cultivar on total and individual anthocyanin concentrations andphenolic acid levels in eight purple basil varieties and examined the relationship between anthocyanincontent, phenolic acid composition, and antioxidant properties. Cultivar had a significant influence ontotal anthocyanin concentrations as well as individual anthocyanin composition. The four major basilanthocyanins (labelled A–D) were quantified and cultivar had a statistically significant effect on antho-cyanins B (p< 0.01), C (p< 0.01), and D (p< 0.01), but not on anthocyanin A (p= 0.94). Cultivar did nothave a significant effect on total phenolic levels, although it did influence the concentration of someindividual phenolic acids, including caftaric (p= 0.03) and chicoric (p= 0.04) acids. Although totalphenolic and anthocyanin levels correlated with measured FRAP antioxidant capacities, for somecultivars the individual phenolic acid and anthocyanin composition was also an important facto