Can Perilla Leaf Treat Ringworm? Understanding Its Benefits and How It Differs from Perilla Seed Leaf

Everyone knows that perilla leaf is an essential ingredient in some of the dishes we make in daily life. In fact, perilla leaf is also a traditional Chinese medicinal herb that has been passed down for thousands of years. The small purple leaves contain remarkable benefits, and its stems, leaves and seeds can all be used as medicine. So what are the benefits and effects of perilla leaf? Can it treat ringworm? What are the differences from perilla seed leaf?

I. Introduction to Perilla

1. Origin of Perilla

Perilla was called ren in ancient times, and is also known as white perilla, red perilla, red perilla, fragrant perilla, black perilla, white perilla and so on. It is the only species in the genus Perilla of the Lamiaceae family, an annual herbaceous plant. Perilla has a history of about 2000 years of cultivation in China. Perilla is both a food ingredient and a medicinal material, and it holds a certain place in the history of the development of Chinese materia medica.

2. Morphology of Perilla

Perilla plants are 0.5 m to 2 m tall. The stem is quadrangular and prismatic, upright and much branched. The leaves are elliptical or ovate, opposite, with serrated edges. Both sides are mostly green or purple, and there are also varieties with different colors on the two sides; some varieties have wrinkled leaf surfaces. The raceme is axillary, the flowers are small and stalked, and the flower colors include white, purple and pink. The flowering period is July to August. The brownish small nutlets are spherical, and the fruiting period is September to October. The whole plant is fragrant.

3. Origin of Perilla

Perilla is native to China. It is mainly distributed in Southeast Asia, south-central regions of China such as Hunan and Jiangxi, as well as Taiwan, China, and the Himalayan region. Japan, Myanmar, the Korean Peninsula, India and Nepal have also introduced this species, and it also grows in North America.

II. Benefits and Effects of Perilla Leaf

The stalk (stem), leaves and seeds of perilla can all be used as medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that perilla leaf is pungent and warm in nature and flavor, fragrant in qi, and enters the lung and spleen meridians. Let us look at the five major benefits and effects of perilla:

1. Perilla leaf can prevent and treat wind-cold common cold: Perilla is pungent and warm, can disperse wind-cold, and its pungent flavor can also diffuse and open lung qi to stop cough. It is generally used for wind-cold common cold with fever and aversion to cold, headache and nasal congestion, accompanied by cough, and is often used together with qianhu, platycodon and the like.

2. Perilla leaf can relieve spleen-stomach qi stagnation: Perilla is pungent and dispersing, warm and moving, and its fragrant qi awakens the spleen, so it can relieve spleen-stomach qi stagnation. It is generally used for symptoms such as chest tightness, vomiting and aversion to food in wind-cold common cold accompanied by spleen-stomach qi stagnation, and is often used together with xiangfu, dried tangerine peel and the like; for those with a cold tendency, it is used together with ageratum; for those with a heat tendency, it can be used together with coptis; for those with qi stagnation and phlegm binding, it is often used together with pinellia and magnolia bark.

3. Perilla leaf can counteract fish and crab poisoning: Perilla is aromatic and dispels foul turbidity, and being pungent and warm it disperses cold, and can relieve abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea caused by eating fish and crab. Use 30 to 60 g of perilla leaf decocted in water and taken orally.

4. Perilla leaf can stop vomiting and calm the fetus: Perilla stalk is pungent and sweet in flavor and slightly warm in nature, and is used for vomiting during pregnancy and chest and abdominal fullness and oppression. If there is restless fetal movement or vomiting during pregnancy, under a doctor's guidance, perilla stalk can be prepared together with perilla leaf, dried tangerine peel and other medicinal materials as a medicinal food.

5. In addition, the fruit of perilla, perilla seed, contains α-linolenic acid, which has an antithrombotic effect, and regular consumption of perilla seed has a good effect on improving memory and vision.

[Usage and Dosage]

Internal use: use 5 to 10 g decocted in water and taken orally.

External use: take an appropriate amount, crush and apply, grind into powder and sprinkle, or decoct in water and wash.

III. Dietary Contraindications of Perilla

Although perilla has many benefits, there are also some contraindications for its use. Pay attention to the following five contraindications:

1. Eating perilla leaf together with crucian carp easily causes toxic sores.

2. Friends with qi deficiency or yin deficiency should not consume perilla in large amounts over a long period, which can cause slippery diarrhea symptoms in people with spleen-stomach deficiency cold.

3. Perilla is a pungent and warm food. Anyone with wind-heat common cold (symptoms such as severe fever, severe aversion to cold, sweating and thirst), especially those with severe heat, should not consume it; those with weak qi and exterior deficiency, fatigue and weakness, frequent colds, and fever with sweating should also not consume it.

4. Perilla also has a certain effect of raising blood sugar, so diabetic patients should use it with caution.

5. Perilla contains volatile components, so it should not be decocted for a long time. When cooked alone, the cooking time should not exceed three minutes. When used as a medicinal material, perilla needs to be soaked in clean water in advance. After soaking, boiling for 5 minutes after reaching a boil is enough.

IV. Can Perilla Leaf Treat Ringworm?

Perilla leaf has a certain auxiliary effect on treating ringworm. In the traditional Chinese medicine classic Puji Fang it is recorded: “To treat malignant sores, scabies and ringworm: grind large perilla leaves into fine powder and apply externally.” After grinding large perilla leaves into powder, apply it externally to the area affected by ringworm. It is best to use it under a doctor's guidance, and it should not be used at will.

V. Differences Between Perilla Leaf and Perilla Seed Leaf

Many people cannot distinguish large perilla leaf clearly. In fact, perilla leaf and perilla seed leaf are the same plant. Perilla is divided into two types: white perilla and purple perilla. The leaves of white perilla are green and the flowers are white, which is perilla seed leaf, generally the leaf used for Korean barbecue; the leaves and flowers of perilla leaf are both purple or purplish red, and it is called purple perilla, generally the one more often used as medicine.

Conclusion: It turns out that besides being used in cooking, perilla is also a traditional Chinese medicinal material of high value. However, when eating it as a medicinal material, you must consult a doctor's advice, and you should also pay attention to some dietary contraindications of perilla. Generally, it is not suitable for people with wind-heat common cold or diabetes.