What are the functions and effects of perilla leaves?
Nov 22, 2024
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Yang Ziqi
Introduction
Perilla leaf is a common herbal plant. Under normal circumstances, the effects and functions of perilla leaf mainly include anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, promoting digestion, relieving exterior syndromes and dispelling cold, regulating qi and harmonizing the stomach, as well as relieving cough and removing phlegm. In daily life, when using perilla leaves, it is important to consume them in moderation to avoid adverse reactions caused by excessive intake. Additionally, maintaining a light diet can help enhance the medicinal effects.
Perilla leaf is a common herbal plant. Under normal circumstances, the functions and effects of perilla leaf mainly include anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, promoting digestion, relieving superficial cold syndrome, regulating qi and harmonizing the stomach, as well as relieving cough and expelling phlegm. Detailed analysis is as follows:
1. Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic: Perilla leaf has certain anti-inflammatory effects, thanks to its active ingredients such as rosmarinic acid and citric acid. These components can inhibit inflammatory responses and alleviate symptoms of inflammation such as redness, swelling, and pain. Therefore, perilla leaf can be used to relieve joint pain and inflammation and has an auxiliary therapeutic effect on inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
2. Promoting Digestion: Perilla leaf can promote digestion and help relieve gastrointestinal discomfort. It can stimulate the secretion of digestive fluids and increase gastrointestinal motility, thereby improving digestive function. Perilla leaf shows significant therapeutic effects on symptoms such as indigestion, gastric distension, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, and diarrhea.
3. Relieving Superficial Cold Syndrome: Perilla leaf has a pungent flavor and warm nature, and acts on the lung and stomach meridians. It can rapidly dispel cold from the body and restore warmth and comfort. For initial symptoms of wind-cold common cold, such as sneezing, clear nasal discharge, nasal congestion, aversion to cold, headache, absence of perspiration, and fever, drinking perilla leaf boiled in water can induce sweating to relieve fever and alleviate discomfort.
4. Regulating Qi and Harmonizing the Stomach: The unique pungent-dispersing and warm-penetrating properties of perilla leaf can widen the middle jiao, relieve abdominal distension, harmonize the stomach, and stop vomiting. It helps to relieve qi stagnation, resolve phlegm, and treat qi-related disorders. It can relieve depression and promote the flow of qi, thereby resolving qi stagnation. Perilla leaf demonstrates significant therapeutic effects for qi stagnation of the spleen and stomach caused by cold-dampness, such as chest tightness and vomiting.
5. Relieving Cough and Expelling Phlegm: Perilla leaf also has the effect of relieving cough and expelling phlegm, and can treat coughing and phlegm caused by cold pathogens invading the lungs. It is often used in combination with other Chinese herbs such as Pinellia (Banxia) and Magnolia bark (Houpo) to enhance therapeutic effects.
In daily life, when using perilla leaf, attention should be paid to moderate consumption to avoid adverse reactions caused by excessive intake. A light diet is also recommended to achieve better medicinal effects.
