Pharmaceutical Name:

Fructus Perillae

Botanical Name:

Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt

Common Name:

Purple Perilla fruit
Perilla seed

Source of Earliest Record:

Mingyi Bielu

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The fruit is gathered in autumn, when it ripens. Then it is dried in the sun and pounded into pieces.

Properties and Taste:

Pungent and warm

Meridians:

Lung and large intestine

Functions:

To stop cough and soothe asthma
To moisten the intestines  and move feces.

Indications and Combinations:

1.     Upward perversion of the lung qi caused by excessive phlegm fluid manifested as cough with white profuse sputum, or asthma and fullness and stifling sensation in the chest and hypochondriac region.
*Use with White mustard seed (Baijiezi) and Radish seed (Laifuzi) in the formula Sanzi Yangqing Tang.

2.      Constipation due to dryness in the intestines.
*Use with Hemp seed (Huomaren), Trichosanthes seed (Gualouren) and Apricot seed (Xingren).

Dosage:

5-10 g