The Contents of Polyphenols in Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton var. frutescens (Egoma) Leaves are Determined by Vegetative Stage, Spatial Leaf Position, and Timing of Harvesting during the Day

Current advances on the therapeutic potential of scutellarin: an updated review

Scutellarin is widely distributed in Scutellaria baicalensis, family Labiatae, and Calendula officinalis, family Asteraceae, and belongs to flavonoids. Scutellarin has a wide range of pharmacological activities, it is widely used in the treatment of cerebral infarction, angina pectoris, cerebral thrombosis, coronary heart disease, and other diseases. It is a natural product with great research and development prospects. In recent years, with in-depth research, researchers have found that wild scutellarin also has good therapeutic effects in anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, anti-virus, treatment of metabolic diseases, and protection of kidney. The cancer treatment involves glioma, breast cancer, lung cancer, renal cancer, colon cancer, and so on. In this paper, the sources, pharmacological effects, in vivo and in vitro models of scutellarin were summarized in recent years, and the current research status and future direction of scutellarin were analyzed.

Comparative transcriptome sequencing analysis to postulate the scheme of regulated leaf coloration in Perilla frutescens

Perilla as herb, ornamental, oil and edible plant is widely used in East Asia. Until now, the mechanism of regulated leaf coloration is still unclear. In this study, four different kinds of leaf colors were used to measure pigment contents and do transcriptome sequence to postulate the mechanism of leaf coloration. The measurements of chlorophyll, carotenoid, flavonoid, and anthocyanin showed that higher contents of all the aforementioned four pigments were in full purple leaf 'M357', and they may be determined front and back leaf color formation with purple. Meanwhile, the content of anthocyanin was controlled back leaf coloration. The chromatic aberration analysis and correlative analysis between different pigments and L*a*b* values analysis also suggested front and back leaf color change was correlated with the above four pigments. The genes involved in leaf coloration were identified through transcriptome sequence. The expression levels of chlorophyll synthesis and degradation related genes, carotenoid synthesis related genes and anthocyanin synthesis genes showed up-/down-regulated expression in different color leaves and were consistent of accumulation of these pigments. It was suggested that they were the candidate genes regulated perilla leaf color formation, and genes including F3'H, F3H, F3',5'H, DFR, and ANS are probably important for regulating both front and back leaf purple formation. Transcription factors involved in anthocyanin accumulation, and regulating leaf coloration were also identified. Finally, the probable scheme of regulated both full green and full purple leaf coloration and back leaf coloration was postulated.

Perilla Pomace, a By-product of Oil Extraction, Is Rich in Nutrients and Can Favorably Modulate Lipid Metabolism in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Perilla pomace, a by-product of oil extraction, is rich in nutrients, such as proteins, but it has not been used for purposes other than livestock feeding. The aim of this study was to determine how perilla pomace modulates glucose and lipid metabolism in Sprague-Dawley rats. Dried perilla pomace was added to diet at a concentration of 16%. One experimental group was administered perilla oil equivalent to that in the perilla pomace. After four weeks, the animals were euthanized, and biochemical parameters were measured. Two experiments were conducted using a low-fat (7% by weight) and a high-fat (21% by weight) diet. Regardless of the level of fat in the diets, no differences in food intake were found among the groups. In the low-fat diet-fed rats (Experiment 1), epididymal adipose tissue weight was slightly, but not significantly, lower in perilla pomace-fed rats than in those fed the control diet. Hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol levels were significantly reduced by perilla pomace compared to those in the control group. Serum lipid profiles (triglycerides and cholesterol) were similar to those in the liver, without statistically significant differences. Perilla pomace significantly diminished hepatic fatty acid synthase (FAS) activity. In high-fat diet-fed rats (Experiment 2), pomace did not significantly lower epididymal adipose tissue weight. Hepatic cholesterol levels were lower in rats on the perilla oil than in control rats. The activity of hepatic enzymes involved in fat oxidation was significantly higher in rats fed the perilla pomace than in those fed the control diet. Collectively, these results show that perilla pomace favorably modulates fat metabolism, and the specific effects depend on the fat content in the diet.

crispa

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is thought to be caused by the deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain. Aβ begins to aggregate approximately 20 years before the expression of its symptoms. Previously, we developed a microliter-scale high-throughput screening (MSHTS) system for inhibitors against Aβ aggregation using quantum dot nanoprobes. Using this system, we also found that plants in the Lamiaceae, particularly Perilla frutescens var. crispa, have high activity. The cultivation environment has the potential to enhance Aβ aggregation inhibitory activity in plants by changing their metabolism. Here, we report on cultivation factors that affected the activity of P. frutescens var. crispa cultivated in three fields under different cultivation conditions. The results revealed that the activity of P. frutescens var. crispa harvested just before flowering was highest. Interestingly, the activity of wind-shielded plants that were cultivated to prevent exposure to wind, was reduced to 1/5th of plants just before flowering. Furthermore, activity just before flowering increased following appropriate nitrogen fertilization and at least one week of drying from the day before harvest. In addition, we confirmed that the P. frutescens var. crispa leaf extracts suppressed Aβ-induced toxicity in nerve growth factor-differentiated PC12 cells. In this study, we demonstrated that flowering, wind, soil water content, and soil nitrogen content affected Aβ aggregation inhibitory activity, necessary to suppress Aβ neurotoxicity, in P. frutescens var. crispa extracts. This study provides practical cultivation methods for P. frutescens var. crispa with high Aβ aggregation inhibitory activity for the prevention of AD.

Biological investigations on macro-morphological characteristics, polyphenolic acids, antioxidant activity of Perilla frutescens (L) Britt. grown under open field

Perilla frutescens, perilla is a functional food, spice and medicinal herb and ornamental plant in the family of Lamiaceae. Thus, macro-morphological characteristics, phenolic acids, antioxidants of twelve accessions of P. frutescens grown under open field were studied. High polymorphism was found among the perilla accessions and macroscopic features of perilla genotypes showed variable results. Perilla can be classified into two clearly phenotypes green and purple, within these two other colours were appeared. A good level of biomass production was recorded for JTD3, 203P, PS2, 203P respectively. Principal component analysis was performed to cluster phenolic acids. GB phenotype exhibited the major content of polyphenols, followed by JTD3 then J1. Regarding antioxidant capacity, JTD3 showed the highest value followed by 203P and GB respectively. The HPLC analysis showed that the most abundant phenolic acids were ellagic acid which is accumulated in a higher percentage in NP606, 588P and JTD3 cultivars respectively, followed by salicylic acid and gallic acid. This is the first report of cultivation of various Perilla varieties under open field environmental conditions, not only to increase productivity but also to improve the quality. Therefore, the present study results confirm the importance of the Perilla species for human consumption, therapeutic and ornamental purposes.