486 Handbook of herbs and spices
29.2.3 Cultivation in China
Both direct seed sowing and transplanting are practised in China. The sowing season
is March–April. Seeds are sown in rows. Machine sowing is also practised. Frequent
application of fertilizer is practised for boosting growth. Chemical fertilizer at the
rate of 4–6 kg/ha is applied every week, i.e., about 15–20 kg during the whole growth
period (appr. 1.5 kg N, 1.5 kg P and 1 kg K). Barnyard manure is applied in June–
August at the rate of about 15–20 tons. Plants require regular watering. For herb oil
production, harvesting is done when the flower heads have just grown out, during
August–September. Usually 225 kg sun dried leaf yield 0.2–0.25 kg oil. When the
whole plant is harvested for oil extraction it is usually in October.
29.3 Chemical composition....................................................................
Perilla leaves and stems contain an essential oil, commercially known as Perilla oil
(ao-jiso in Japanese). The oil is produced through steam distillation. The oil is a mixture
of mono and sesquiterpenes. The important monoterpenes are: (–) perillaldehyde and
(–)-limonene. The important sesquiterpenes are b-caryophyllene and a-farnesene
(Masada, 1976). About 50–60% of the essential oil consists of perillaldehyde, which
has a powerful fatty-spicy, oily-herbaceons odour and sweet herbaceous taste (Arctander,
1969). Its anti-oxime is about 2000 time sweeter than sucrose (Fujita and Nakayama,
1997). Kang et al., (1992) reported the following composition: perillaldehyde (74%),
limonene (12.8%), b-caryophellene (3.8%), b-begamontene (3.5%), linalool (2.6%)
and benzaldehyde (1.6%). Other characteristic minor compounds having ‘perilla-like’
odour are (–)-perillyl alcohol, trans-shisool, cis-shisool, linalool. a-pinene, b-pinene,
camphene, 3-octanol, 1-octen-3-ol, allofarnasene, b-farnasene, etc. Perilla having this
type of oil is classified as perillaldehyde type (Fujita and Nakayama, 1997). Table 29.2
summarizes the important chemical constituents reported from Perilla.
29.3.1 Non-Volatile compounds
A number of non-volatile compounds having various biological activities have been
reported. They include the following more important ones. Triterpenoids and sterols:
perillic acid, steroids such as b-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, ursolic acid,
oleanolic acid, tormentic acid, higher terpenoids and carotenoids, (b-carotene, lutein,
neoxanthin, antheraxnathin, violaxanthin), etc. Flavonoids and anthocyanins: apigenin,
luteolin, scutellarin and their glycosides, cyanidin glycoside, malonyl shisonin and
shisonin. Koezuko et al. (1985) have reported genetic studies on anthocyanin production
in perilla. Glycosides: perilloside A to D [(4S)-(–)-perillyl b-D-glucopyranoside and
its isomers]; eugenyl b-D-glucopyranoside, benzyl b-D-glucopyranoside,
phynylpropanoid glucoside perilloside E (6-methoxy-2,3-methylenedioxy-5-allylphenyl
b-D-glucopyranoside); two cyanogenic glycosides prunasin and amygdaline; two
jasmonoid glucosides (a phenyl valeric acid glucoside, and decenoic acid glucoside),
etc. have been reported.
29.3.2 Perilla seed lipids
Perilla seed contains about 38–45% fixed oil; the Indian type has 51.7% oil. Perilla
oil is a highly unsaturated oil having the characteristics (Shin, 1997): refractive