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Perilla - A potential future health food
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Wednesday, 21 April, 2021, 14 : 00 PM [IST]
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Ashoka S
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Introduction
Perilla frutescens L. belongs to the family Lamiaceae which consists of 236 genera and more than 7,000 species. P. frutescens commonly known as Perilla is an annual herb found in China, Korea, Japan, and the Himalayan region of India and Nepal. Now it is also being cultivated by some Western countries and regions like USA, Russia, and Europe due to its growing economic importance (Nitta et al., 2003).
This plant is one of the important oils yielding traditional crops with high medicinal value; however, this plant is on the verge of extinction in the Central Himalaya due to the availability of alternate sources of edible oil.
Perilla plant contains several important phytochemicals such as rosmarinic acid, luteolin, chrysoeriol, quercetin, catechin, caffeic acid, and ferulic acid (Peng et al., 2005 and Meng et al., 2009). The presence of Phytosterols, Tocopherols, Squalene, and Polyunsaturated fatty acid has also been reported from Perilla seed (Ciftciet al., 2012).
Vernacular names of Perilla:
Perilla has different synonyms and vernacular names that vary from area to area. In China, it is known as Zisu, Shiso in Japan, Deulkkae or Tilkae in Korea, Silam in Nepal. In India, it has several names across the state, such as Bhanjeer or Banjiraa (Uttarakhand), Hanshi or thoiding (Manipur), chhawhchhi (Mizoram) (Dhyani et al. (2019)).
Different types of Perilla:
Red perilla: It is often described as having an anise flavour
• Used to wrap around pieces of meat
• Add to make pickle, tofu, or bean curd dishes
Green perilla: It is said to be spicier and more like cinnamon
• Used to wrap around sushi (traditional Japanese dish)
• Added to soups, leaves dried and sprinkled over rice.
Nutrient composition of perilla leaf extract powder and perilla seeds:
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Components
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Perilla leaf extract
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Perilla seed (%)
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Moisture (%)
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7.68
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6.02
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Crude protein (%)
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5.47
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25.38
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Crude fat (%)
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7.61
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23.00
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Calcium (mg)
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235.4
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249.9
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Magnesium (mg)
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4.836
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261.7
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Phosphorous (mg)
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134.1
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677.2
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Iron (mg)
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11.14
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9.54
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Potassium (mg)
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181.7
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136.1
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Zinc (mg)
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0.50
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4.22
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Source:Li et al. (2014) & Longvah & Deosthale (1991)
The total lipid content of Perilla seed oil was found to be 40%. Major fatty acids reported in Perilla oil were linolenic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, and stearic acid.
Neutrallipids accounted for about 91.2- 93.9% followed by glycolipids (3.9-5.8%) and phospholipids(2-3%) respectively. The neutral lipids contain triacylglycerol (88.1-90%), sterol ester (4.1-6.2%) and hydrocarbon (1.9-2.7 %), and some amount of free fatty acid (Ciftciet al.,2012).
Bioactivity of Perilla:
Biological analysis of the Perilla plant revealed that this plant showed anti-microbial, anti-allergic, anti-cancer, anti-tumour, anti-depression, anti-viral, antiasthmatic, and antioxidant activities. It is utilised as a functional food in various parts of the world but in some parts, there is no organised cultivation of this crop and despite having numerous benefits and uses, it is still an underutilised crop (Dhyani et al., 2019).
Chemical constituents:
The perilla plant contained different phytoconstituents like flavonoid aglycons, luteolin, apigenin, chrysoeriol, rosemarinic acid, caffeic acid, monoterpenes, alkaloids, xanthine oxidase, ascorbic acid, ß-carotene, citral, dillapiol, elemicin, limonene, myristicin, and protocatechuic acid. The seeds of perilla having different saturated and unsaturated fatty acids such as palmitic acid, oleic acid, linolenic acid, ?-linolenic acid, and a- linolenic acid.
Traditional uses for common ailments:
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Sl.no
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Forms
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Uses
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1
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Leaves
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Depression, cold, chest
stuffiness, vomiting & abdominal pain
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2
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Dried leaves
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Asthma and morning
sickness
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3
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Leaves are cooked with
seafood
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Food poisoning
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4
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Juice of the leaves
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Cuts and wounds
(anti-bacterial properties)
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5
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Seeds
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Anti-asthmatic, colds, chills,
nausea, abdominal pain, food poisoning, and allergic reactions
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6
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Stems
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Morning sickness
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7
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Decoction of the leaves
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Cold, fever, vomiting,
abdominal pain, and constipation
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8
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Perilla leaves and aloe
Vera
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Hair problems
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Source: Dhyani et al. (2019)
Conclusion:
The whole perilla plant is very nutritious, due to the presence of different phytoconstituents, vitamins, and minerals. On the whole, the perilla seed oil is a highly unsaturated oil among all the current discovered natural vegetable oils that are beneficial in curing non-communicable diseases and can also be used as an active constituent in the formulation of various functional foods. Hence, further researches are required to validate its use in product development by using leaves, seed, and oil.
(The author is PhD scholar, Dept. of Food Sc., & Nutrition, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru)
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