- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- East Asia, especially China
Asia · Herb · № 656
Perilla frutescens
Herb · Asia
Perilla
Perilla frutescens
Traditionally attributed effects: warms in colds from cold, helps digestion and soothes cough with phlegm.
Safety notes
Leaf not with sweating or damp heat; seed not with diarrhoea. Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.
Preparation
Leaf (zi su ye) and seed (zi su zi). Usually as a decoction, together with other herbs.
Use in traditions
Described in the classical Chinese materia medica, in the group 'herbs that open the surface'. The leaf (zi su ye) is used for colds and nausea and against fish and crab poisoning; it is part of Ban Xia Hou Po Tang. In Japan (shiso) it colours umeboshi red and is served with sushi; in Korea (kkaennip) the leaves are pickled.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- pungent, warm, aromatic (leaf); pungent, warm (seed)
- Meridians
- lung, spleen (leaf); lung, large intestine (seed)
Attributed effects
The leaf opens the surface in colds with chills and headache, moves the energy of spleen and stomach in nausea and poor appetite, calms morning sickness and is traditionally used for poisoning by fish and shellfish. The seed makes the lung energy descend in cough, wheezing and much thin white phlegm and moistens the bowel.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 3–9 g a day, usually in a decoction. In Japan, as shiso, a healthy flavouring. For cough from wind-cold a rice porridge is cooked with perilla leaf, apricot kernel and tangerine peel.
Combinations
- Leaf with tangerine peel and cardamom for morning sickness
- Seed with ban xia, ma huang and apricot kernel for asthma with much phlegm
- Ways to prepare herbs
- DecoctionPowder and kitchen