Perilla
Scientific Name(s): Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt.
Common Name(s): Aka-jiso (red perilla), Ao-jiso (green perilla), Beefsteak plant, Perilla, Purple mint, Shiso, Wild coleus
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Jul 2, 2021.
Clinical Overview
Use
Perilla leaves are used in Chinese medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments, as well as in Asian cooking as a garnish and as a possible antidote to food poisoning. Leaf extracts have shown antioxidant, antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, anorexigenic, and tumor-preventing properties. However, there are limited clinical data to support perilla for any use.
Dosing
Clinical trials are lacking to provide dosage recommendations.
Contraindications
Contraindications have not yet been identified.
Pregnancy/Lactation
Information regarding safety and efficacy in pregnancy and lactation is lacking.
Interactions
None well documented.
Adverse Reactions
Perilla oil may cause dermatitis.
Toxicology
None well documented.
Scientific Family
- Lamiaceae
Botany
Perilla is an annual herb indigenous to eastern Asia but which has become naturalized to the southeastern United States, particularly in semishaded, damp woodlands. The plant is attractive, with deep purple, square stems and reddish-purple leaves. The leaves are ovate, hairy, and petiolated, with ruffled or curly edges; some very large red leaves are reminiscent of a slice of raw beef, hence the common name of beefsteak plant. Small tubular flowers are borne on long spikes that arise from the leaf axils between July and October. The plant has a strong fragrance sometimes described as minty.1, 2
History
The leaves and seeds are widely eaten in Asia. In Japan, perilla leaves are used as a garnish on raw fish dishes serving the dual purposes of flavoring and as an antidote to possible food poisoning. The seeds are expressed to yield edible oil that is also used in commercial manufacturing processes for the production of varnishes, dyes, and inks. Dried leaves are used for many applications in Chinese herbal medicine, including treatment of respiratory conditions (eg, asthma, coughs, colds), as an antispasmodic, to induce sweating, to quell nausea, and to alleviate sunstroke.2, 3
Chemistry
Perilla leaves yield about 0.2% of a delicately fragrant essential oil that varies widely in composition and includes hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and furan. The seeds have a fixed oil content of approximately 40%, with a large proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, mainly alpha-linoleic acid. The plant also contains pseudotannins and antioxidants typical of the mint family. An anthocyanin pigment, perillanin chloride, is responsible for the reddish-purple coloration of some cultivars. Several different chemotypes have been identified. In the most frequently cultivated chemotype, the main component is perillaldehyde, with smaller amounts of limonene, linalool, beta-caryophyllene, menthol, alpha-pinene, perillene, and elemicin. The oxime of perilla aldehyde (perillartin) is reported to be 2,000 times sweeter than sugar and is used as an artificial sweetener in Japan. Other compounds of possible commercial interest include citral, a pleasantly lemon-scented compound; rosefurane, used in the perfume industry; and simple phenylpropanoids of value to the pharmaceutical industry. Rosmarinic, ferulic, caffeic, and tormentic acids and luteolin, apigenin, and catechin have also been isolated from perilla, as well as long-chain policosanols of interest in platelet aggreg...