Japanese pickled apricot, called \"umeboshi\", is a traditional food that has experientially been consumed as a folk medicine. The main variation of umeboshi is called \"shiso-zuke umeboshi\", meaning pickled with red perilla leaves to add a colorful appearance. This study investigated changes in phenolics and antioxidant potential of shiso-zuke umeboshi during pickling processes and simulated digestion. Results showed that the red perilla pickling (PP; 1338.12) had 13 times higher phenolics than salt pickling (SP; 101.99) in μg/g DW, and the formation of rosmarinic acid was enhanced. The simulated digestion showed a gradual increase in antioxidant content and activity from the stomach to small intestine, with TPC and TFC being rapidly released in the intestinal environment. The study concluded that shiso-zuke umeboshi provides higher health benefits due to the excellent antioxidant compounds produced through the perilla pickling process.

BACKGROUND: Endophytic fungi (EF) reside within plants without causing harm and provide benefits such as enhancing nutrients and producing bioactive compounds, which improve the medicinal properties of host plants. Selecting plants with established medicinal properties for studying EF is important, as it allows a deeper understanding of their influence. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the impact of EF after inoculating the medicinal plant Perilla frutescens, specifically focusing on their role in enhancing medicinal properties.
RESULTS: In the current study, the impact of two EF i.e., Irpex lenis and Schizophyllum commune isolated from A. bracteosa was observed on plant Perilla frutescens leaves after inoculation. Plants were divided into four groups i.e., group A: the control group, group B: inoculated with I. lenis; group C: inoculated with S. commune and group D: inoculated with both the EF. Inoculation impact of I. lenis showed an increase in the concentration of chlorophyll a (5.32 mg/g), chlorophyll b (4.46 mg/g), total chlorophyll content (9.78 mg/g), protein (68.517 ± 0.77 mg/g), carbohydrates (137.886 ± 13.71 mg/g), and crude fiber (3.333 ± 0.37%). Furthermore, the plants inoculated with I. lenis showed the highest concentrations of P (14605 mg/kg), Mg (4964.320 mg/kg), Ca (27389.400 mg/kg), and Mn (86.883 mg/kg). The results of the phytochemical analysis also indicated an increased content of total flavonoids (2.347 mg/g), phenols (3.086 mg/g), tannins (3.902 mg/g), and alkaloids (1.037 mg/g) in the leaf extract of P. frutescens inoculated with I. lenis. Thus, overall the best results of inoculation were observed in Group B i.e. inoculated with I. lenis. GC-MS analysis of methanol leaf extract showed ten bioactive constituents, including 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z)-, methyl ester, and hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester as major constituents found in all the groups of P. frutescens leaves. The phenol (gallic acid) and flavonoids (rutin, kaempferol, and quercetin) were also observed to increase after inoculation by HPTLC analysis. The enhancement in the phytochemical content was co-related with improved anti-oxidant potential which was analyzed by DPPH (% Inhibition: 83.45 µg/ml) and FRAP (2.980 µM Fe (II) equivalent) assay as compared with the control group.
CONCLUSIONS: Inoculation with I. lenis significantly enhances the uptake of nutritional constituents, phytochemicals, and antioxidant properties in P. frutescens, suggesting its potential to boost the therapeutic properties of host plants.

Viruses pose a significant threat to human health, causing widespread diseases and impacting the global economy. Perilla frutescens, a traditional medicine and food homologous plant, is well known for its antiviral properties. This systematic review examines the antiviral potential of Perilla frutescens, including its antiviral activity, chemical structure and pharmacological parameters. Utilizing bioinformatics analysis, we revealed the correlation between Perilla frutescens and antiviral activity, identified overlaps between Perilla frutescens target genes and virus-related genes, and explored related signaling pathways. Moreover, a classified summary of the active components of Perilla frutescens, focusing on compounds associated with antiviral activity, provides important clues for optimizing the antiviral drug development of Perilla frutescens. Our findings indicate that Perilla frutescens showed a strong antiviral effect, and its active ingredients can effectively inhibit the replication and spread of a variety of viruses in this review. The antiviral mechanisms of Perilla frutescens may involve several pathways, including enhanced immune function, modulation of inflammatory responses, and inhibition of key enzyme activities such as viral replicase. These results underscore the potential antiviral application of Perilla frutescens as a natural plant and provide important implications for the development of new antiviral drugs.

The gap between serious soil heavy metals pollution and inefficient soil remediation threatens human health. This study proposed a method to improve the phytoremediation efficiency using bamboo vinegar (BV) solution and the potential mechanism was discussed. The results demonstrated that the application of BV increases the content of cadmium (Cd) in vacuole and cell wall hemicellulose 2 in leaves of Perilla frutescens. Simultaneously, it enhanced enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase in leaves. Therefore, this process alleviated the damage of Cd to functional tissues of Perilla frutescens, thus improving the tolerance of plants to Cd. Moreover, the BV application reduced the Cd content bound by root cell wall pectin fractions and insoluble phosphate, subsequently improving the ability of oxalic acids to carry Cd to the aerial parts. Consequently, the aerial parts obtained a larger amount of Cd enrichment. Overall, the Transfer Factor of Cd from roots to stems and enrichment of Cd in Perilla frutescens were maximally increased by 57.70 % and 54.03 % with the application of 50-fold and 300-fold diluted BV under 2 mg·L-1 Cd stress, respectively. The results can provide a theoretical basis for the promotion of phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil treatment technology.

Perilla frutescens var. acuta (Lamiaceae) is widely used not only as an oil or a spice, but also as a traditional medicine to treat colds, coughs, fever, and indigestion. As an ongoing effort, luteolin-7-O-diglucuronide (1), apigenin-7-O-diglucuronide (2), and rosmarinic acid (3) isolated from P. frutescens var. acuta were investigated for their anti-adipogenic and thermogenic activities in 3T3-L1 cells. Compound 1 exhibited a strong inhibition against adipocyte differentiation by suppressing the expression of Pparg and Cebpa over 52.0% and 45.0%, respectively. Moreover, 2 inhibited the expression of those genes in a dose-dependent manner [Pparg: 41.7% (5 µM), 62.0% (10 µM), and 81.6% (50 µM); Cebpa: 13.8% (5 µM), 18.4% (10 µM), and 37.2% (50 µM)]. On the other hand, the P. frutescens var. acuta water extract showed moderate thermogenic activities. Compounds 1 and 3 also induced thermogenesis in a dose-dependent manner by stimulating the mRNA expressions of Ucp1, Pgc1a, and Prdm16. Moreover, an LC-MS/MS chromatogram of the extract was acquired using UHPLC-MS2 and it was analyzed by feature-based molecular networking (FBMN) and the Progenesis QI software (version 3.0). The chemical profiling of the extract demonstrated that flavonoids and their glycoside derivatives, including those isolated earlier as well as rosmarinic acid, are present in P. frutescens var. acuta.

Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton, a member of the Lamiaceae family, stands out as a versatile plant highly valued for its unique aroma and medicinal properties. Additionally, P. frutescens seeds are rich in Îś-linolenic acid, holding substantial economic importance. While the nuclear and chloroplast genomes of P. frutescens have already been documented, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence remains unreported. To this end, the sequencing, annotation, and assembly of the entire Mitochondrial genome of P. frutescens were hereby conducted using a combination of Illumina and PacBio data. The assembled P. frutescens mitochondrial genome spanned 299,551 bp and exhibited a typical circular structure, involving a GC content of 45.23%. Within the genome, a total of 59 unique genes were identified, encompassing 37 protein-coding genes, 20 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes. Additionally, 18 introns were observed in 8 protein-coding genes. Notably, the codons of the P. frutescens mitochondrial genome displayed a notable A/T bias. The analysis also revealed 293 dispersed repeat sequences, 77 simple sequence repeats (SSRs), and 6 tandem repeat sequences. Moreover, RNA editing sites preferentially produced leucine at amino acid editing sites. Furthermore, 70 sequence fragments (12,680 bp) having been transferred from the chloroplast to the mitochondrial genome were identified, accounting for 4.23% of the entire mitochondrial genome. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that among Lamiaceae plants, P. frutescens is most closely related to Salvia miltiorrhiza and Platostoma chinense. Meanwhile, inter-species Ka/Ks results suggested that Ka/Ks < 1 for 28 PCGs, indicating that these genes were evolving under purifying selection. Overall, this study enriches the mitochondrial genome data for P. frutescens and forges a theoretical foundation for future molecular breeding research.

This study aimed to conduct a comparative analysis of germinated seeds and microgreens derived from Perilla frutescens var. crispa f. viridis, hypothesizing that microgreens would exhibit higher concentrations of nutrients and bioactive compounds compared to their precursors. Perilla frutescens was chosen for its popularity and wide use in Asian cuisine. A series of analytical methods was employed to quantify and qualify various components. The findings indicate that germinated seeds exhibit significantly higher quantities of lipids, proteins, sugars, free amino acids, and minerals, whereas microgreens possess significantly high concentration of vitamins and polyphenols. These results provide valuable insights into the nutritional differences between germinated seeds and microgreens, highlighting their distinct contributions to diet. Specifically, incorporating germinated seeds can enhance macronutrient intake, while microgreens can boost antioxidant intake. These findings can inform the development of targeted dietary recommendations, promoting the inclusion of both germinated seeds and microgreens to meet specific nutritional needs and improve health outcomes.

In this study, an ultrasonic-assisted natural deep eutectic solvent (NaDES) was used to extract flavonoids from Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. leaves. Of 10 tested NaDESs, that comprising D-(+)-glucose and glycerol exhibited the best total flavonoid extraction rate. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used for extraction modeling and optimization, and the total flavonoid content reached 87.48 ± 1.61 mg RE/g DW, which was a significant increase of 5.36% compared with that of 80% ethanol extraction. Morphological changes in P. frutescens leaves before and after extraction were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the mechanism of NaDES formation was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Furthermore, 10 flavonoids were identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. In addition, the NaDES extract had better biological activity according to five kinds of antioxidant capacity measurements, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and hyaluronidase (Hyal) inhibition experiments. Moreover, the stability test revealed that the total flavonoid loss rate of the NaDES extract after four weeks was 37.75% lower than that of the ethanol extract. These results indicate that the NaDES can effectively extract flavonoids from P. frutescens leaves and provide a reference for further applications in the food, medicine, health product and cosmetic industries.

An excessive inflammatory response of the gastrointestinal tract is recognized as one of the major contributors to ulcerative colitis (UC). Despite this, effective preventive approaches for UC remain limited. Rosmarinic acid (RA), an enriched fraction from Perilla frutescens, has been shown to exert beneficial effects on disease-related inflammatory disorders. However, RA-enriched perilla seed meal (RAPSM) and perilla seed (RAPS) extracts have not been investigated in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC in mice. RAPSM and RAPS were extracted using the solvent-partitioning method and analyzed with high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Mice with UC induced using 2.5% DSS for 7 days were pretreated with RAPSM and RAPS (50, 250, 500 mg/kg). Then, the clinical manifestation, colonic histopathology, and serum proinflammatory cytokines were determined. Indeed, DSS-induced UC mice exhibited colonic pathological defects including an impaired colon structure, colon length shortening, and increased serum proinflammatory cytokines. However, RAPSM and RAPS had a protective effect at all doses by attenuating colonic pathology in DSS-induced UC mice, potentially through the suppression of proinflammatory cytokines. Concentrations of 50 mg/kg of RAPSM and RAPS were sufficient to achieve a beneficial effect in UC mice. This suggests that RAPSM and RAPS have a preventive effect against DSS-induced UC, potentially through alleviating inflammatory responses and relieving severe inflammation in the colon.

The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor (TF) family is one of the biggest TF families identified so far in the plant kingdom, functioning in diverse biological processes including plant growth and development, signal transduction, and stress responses. For Perilla frutescens, a novel oilseed crop abundant in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (especially α-linolenic acid, ALA), the identification and biological functions of bZIP members remain limited. In this study, 101 PfbZIPs were identified in the perilla genome and classified into eleven distinct groups (Groups A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, S, and UC) based on their phylogenetic relationships and gene structures. These PfbZIP genes were distributed unevenly across 18 chromosomes, with 83 pairs of them being segmental duplication genes. Moreover, 78 and 148 pairs of orthologous bZIP genes were detected between perilla and Arabidopsis or sesame, respectively. PfbZIP members belonging to the same subgroup exhibited highly conserved gene structures and functional domains, although significant differences were detected between groups. RNA-seq and RT-qPCR analysis revealed differential expressions of 101 PfbZIP genes during perilla seed development, with several PfbZIPs exhibiting significant correlations with the key oil-related genes. Y1H and GUS activity assays evidenced that PfbZIP85 downregulated the expression of the PfLPAT1B gene by physical interaction with the promoter. PfLPAT1B encodes a lysophosphatidate acyltransferase (LPAT), one of the key enzymes for triacylglycerol (TAG) assembly. Heterogeneous expression of PfbZIP85 significantly reduced the levels of TAG and UFAs (mainly C18:1 and C18:2) but enhanced C18:3 accumulation in both seeds and non-seed tissues in the transgenic tobacco lines. Furthermore, these transgenic tobacco plants showed no significantly adverse phenotype for other agronomic traits such as plant growth, thousand seed weight, and seed germination rate. Collectively, these findings offer valuable perspectives for understanding the functions of PfbZIPs in perilla, particularly in lipid metabolism, showing PfbZIP85 as a suitable target in plant genetic improvement for high-value vegetable oil production.