Common perilla (Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton.) as a perspective immunomodulator

Ona Ragažinskienė, Virginijus Gailys¹, Konstancija Jankauskienė¹, Genovaitė Šimonienė¹, Vilma Jurkštienė¹

Kaunas Botanical Garden, Vytautas Magnus University, ¹Department of Physiology, Kaunas University of Medicine, Lithuania

Key words: common perilla (Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton), immunomodulator, raw material.

Summary. Common perilla (Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton) is a new perspective annual medicinal dead-nettle family (Lamiaceae Lindl.) plant in Lithuania. Its medicinal raw material and preparations produced of it are characterised by the variety of pharmacological effects: desensitizing, antimicrobial, anti tumorous, and antioxidative. This species was introduced from the East Asia and cultivated in many European, Asian, and North American countries. The common perilla has been cultivated in Lithuania as a decorative plant in parks and squares since 1990. This plant has been introduced in the collection and exposition of medicinal plants in Kaunas Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University since 1998 with the purpose to analyze biological and pharmacological properties of plants and to assess the quality and quantity of the raw herb. It would be reasonable to carry out experimental research on biological qualities and raw material of the common perilla in Lithuania in accordance with the contemporary technologies and requirements of the European Union standards.

Correspondence to O. Ragažinskienė, Kaunas Botanical Garden, Vytautas Magnus University, Ž. E. Žilibero 6, 3018 Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: o.ragazinskiene@bs.vdu.lt

Received 26 August 2003, accepted 25 November 2003