Perilla (Perilla frutescens) [L.] Britton

Bengali	Ban tulsi
Chinese	Hung sha yao, Sugeng
Chinese (Cantonese)	紅蘇葉 [hùhng sōu yihp], 蘇葉 [sōu yihp], 香蘇 [hèung sōu], 亦蘇 [yihk sōu], 皺紫蘇 [jau jih sōu], 紫蘇 [jih sōu]
	Huhng sou yihp, Sou yihp, Heong sou, Yihk sou, Jau jih sou, Jih sou
Chinese (Mandarin)	紅蘇葉 [hóng sū yè], 蘇葉 [sū yè], 香蘇 [xiāng sū], 亦蘇 [yì sū], 皺紫蘇 [zhòu zǐ sū], 紫蘇 [zǐ sū], 紫苏 [zǐ sū]
	Hong su ye, Su ye, Yeh ssu, Xiang su, Yi su, Zhou zi su, Zi su, Tyu ssu, Chi ssu, Su xie
Czech	Perila křovitá
Danish	Kinesisk Mynte
Dutch	Shiso blad
English	Beefsteak plant, Chinese Basil, Wild sesame
Estonian	Pronks lutiklill
Finnish	Veripeippi
French	Sésame sauvage
German	Schwarznessel, Chinesische Melisse, Wilder Sesam, Perilla
Hebrew	פרילה
	Perila
Hindi	Bhanjira
Hungarian	Kínai bazsalikom, Vad szezám, Fekete csalán
Indonesian	Daun shiso
Japanese	紫蘇, 荏胡麻, 赤紫蘇, 青紫蘇, 蘇葉
	しそ, えごま, あかじそ, あおじそ, そよう
	シソ, エゴマ, アカジソ, アオジソ, ソヨウ
	Shiso, Egoma, Soyō; Aka-shiso, Akajiso (red); Ao-shiso, Aojiso (green)
Korean	들깨, 소엽, 깻잎
	Deulggae, Tulkkae, Soyeob, Soyop, Kkaennip, Ggaesip
Laotian	Nga chien chin, Nga chieng (Perilla ocymoides)
Polish	Pachnotka zwyczajna
Portuguese	Perila
Russian	Перилла
	Perilla
Swedish	Bladmynta
Thai	ชิโช, งาขี้ม้อน
	Nag-mon, Nga-khi-mon, Chicho
Vietnamese	Lá tía tô, Rau tía tô, Tía tô
	La tia to, Rau tia to, Tia to

Red perilla leaves

Red and green perilla

There are two variants of Perilla frutescens grown in Japan: The var. crispa, called shiso, has attractive, crispate foliage and is grown for the aromatic leaves, which may be green (ao-jiso, [青紫蘇, あおしそ]) or red (aka-jiso [赤紫蘇, あかしそ]). The leaves are always used fresh, but can be frozen.

The other variant is var. frutescens known as egoma. It is valued for the oil extracted from the seeds, which is used for Shintoist ceremonies, but also as an expensive food supplement. Occasionally, the dry seeds find use as a spice.

Lamiaceae (mint family)

Aromatic but difficult to describe; the fragrance reminds me of cinnamon and anise or licorice. The taste is similar, but with a marked astringent component.

As with many other plant of the same family, olfactory characteristics are quite variable and depend, besides genetic factors, also on soil and climate.

Perilla leaves contain about 0.2% of an essential oil, which varies widely in composition. Several different chemotypes are known: PA (see below) is the only is the only one of culinary value; the others are PK (main component perilla ketone, minor components isoegomaketone and perillene), EK (main component elsholzia ketone, minor component naginata ketone), PL (main component perillene, minor components citral, perilla ketone, isoegomaketone), PP (phenylpropanoids: myristicin, dillapiol, elemicin, safrole) and C (main component citral, minor components perillene, perilla ketone, isoegomaketone). There is also a type rich in rosefurane, which might have potential as a cheaper substitute for rose oil in perfumery.

Perilla flowering plants

In the most frequently cultivated chemotype (PA), the main component is perillaldehyde (p-menthadien-1,8(9)-al(7), 75%) Its minor constituents are limonene (13%), linalool, β-caryophyllene, l-menthol, limonene, α-pinene, perillene (2-methyl-5-(3-oxolanyl)-2-pentene) and elemicin. Perillaldehyde can cause skin allergies.

The C type is a potentially interesting source of citral, a pleasantly lemon-scented material much used in the flavour and perfume industries; see lemon myrtle for more on lemony flavours and citral.

The PP type may also gain importance as a source of simple phenylpropanoids in the pharmaceutical industry. The high myristicin content makes this plant considerably toxic (see nutmeg on the hallucinogenic properties of myristicin).

The dominating constituents of the remaining types are monoterpenoid furanes, often ketones. Some of these, e.g., isoegomaketone, are severe pneumotoxins that have caused fatal poisoning in cattle repeatedly. The PK type must be considered a toxic plant that has no use in kitchen.

The oxime of perilla aldehyde (perillartin) is about 2000 times sweeter than sucrose; it is used as an artificial sweetener in Japan.

Green-leaved Korean type of perilla www.flickr.com

Perilla seeds contain a drying oil (40%) with high content of multiply unsaturated fatty acids (60% α-linolenic acid, 15% both linoleic and oleic acid); their medicinal value is sometimes matter of great exaggeration.

Lastly, perilla contains the pseudotannins and antioxidants typical for the mint family; see hyssop for details. The reddish-purple colour of some cultivars is caused by an anthocyanin pigment called perillanin chloride.

The plant is native to South East and East Asia.

I was not able to find out anything about the name perilla, although there might be a connection to pearl.

In Korea, where perilla is an important flavouring, the plant is known as tul-kkae [들깨]. This name literally means “wild sesame plant”, although perilla and sesame are not particularly closely related. Also kkaennip [깻잎] (“sesame leaf”) is a common designation for perilla in Korean. I do not know about the motivation behind those weird names; maybe, they refer to the fact that both plants have oil-rich seeds. Occasionally, names of the “wild sesame” type are found in Korean cookbooks published in English or German. It is to be suspected that the translators meant perilla and not a wild type of sesame.

Also, the Japanese name egoma [荏胡麻, えごま] for perilla seeds is derived from “sesame” (goma) and means “sesame bean”.

In some East Asian countries, perilla and rice paddy herb bear confusingly similar names. See there for details.

Chinese Herb Database: Perilla chemikalienlexikon.de: Myristicin Crop and Food Research: Perilla (crop.cri.nz) Perilla: Botany, Uses and Genetic Resources (purdue.edu) Sorting Perilla names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au)