Witnessed by: TCM · Western
Perilla (Perilla frutescens), of the Lamiaceae family. Erect aromatic annual with purple-tinged leaves; native range: East Asia — China, Korea and Japan. Globally recognized as zi su (紫蘇) in Chinese, and perilla, purple perilla, shiso, beefsteak plant in English. The part used is leaf (zi su ye) and ripe seed (zi su zi). Broad crinkled leaves, often wine-purple beneath, with a warm minty-cinnamon aroma; taste pungent and aromatic, the seed nutty and oily.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
PERILLA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Perilla
- Scientific name
- Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton
- Family
- Lamiaceae
Form
- Part used
- leaf (zi su ye) and ripe seed (zi su zi)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent
- Western
- pungent · aromatic
Temperature
TCM: warm
Western: warm
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses read the aromatic leaf as warming and dispersing
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Spleen
- Western
- lungs · digestion · nervous system
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- leaf releases the exterior and disperses cold, promotes qi movement and harmonises the middle, calms a restless fetus, and resolves seafood toxicity; the seed descends qi and dissolves phlegm to still cough and wheeze
- Western
- antiallergic, antitussive, carminative and diaphoretic; the seed oil anti-inflammatory
Cautions
- Contraindications
- warm exterior conditions and profuse sweating with qi deficiency
- Toxicity
- the culinary leaf is a food; the concentrated essential oil is irritant
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