Perilla seed oil and protein for food and health
What it found
Perilla seeds are rich in an omega-3 fat and in protein.
Studies in animals and people suggest the oil may help with cholesterol, inflammation and blood sugar, but human evidence is still limited.
What they found
Studies in people
Cholesterol in people
In a 56-day trial of 36 people with high cholesterol, taking perilla oil capsules lowered blood fats and C-reactive protein. Another 30-day trial found lower triglycerides after a breakfast containing the oil.
Bone density in people
Adults who took 7 mL of perilla oil daily for 12 months had higher bone mineral density than those who took olive oil.
Animal and lab studies
Antioxidant effects
In lab tests the oil mopped up free radicals. In mice with an Alzheimer's-like condition it reduced signs of oxidative stress in the brain, liver and kidneys.
Cancer in animals
In rats and mice given the oil in the diet, fewer colon tumours formed. The authors link this to the omega-3 fat acting on inflammation pathways.
Other findings
What is in the oil
Perilla seed oil is mostly unsaturated fat, with alpha-linolenic acid making up 54 to 64 percent. It also contains vitamin E compounds and plant sterols.
Protein in food
Perilla seed protein has a good balance of amino acids and can be used to make gels, films and emulsions. It can also carry unstable ingredients like curcumin and beta-carotene.
What the authors conclude
“In conclusion, perilla seed oil and protein represent valuable resources with significant potential in the functional food and nutraceutical industries.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the health benefits of perilla seed oil are still based on lab and animal studies, and call for large, long-term trials in people to confirm its effects and find suitable doses.
- They advise that more work is needed on efficient ways to extract and modify perilla seed protein so it can be used more widely in foods.
- They conclude that perilla seed oil and protein are valuable resources with real potential for functional foods and nutraceuticals.
How it was done
The authors say perilla seeds are an underused resource, and they wanted to pull together what is known about the oil and protein to guide future food and health research.
They gathered and reviewed published studies from 1990 to 2024 on the makeup, health effects and food uses of perilla seed oil and perilla seed protein.
What it can’t tell you
- Many of the health findings come from animals or cells, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The human trials were small and short, so they cannot prove that perilla oil prevents disease.
- The review did not find large, long-term human trials of perilla oil or protein.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Excellent Young Scholars Fund of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Project of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences; National Key Research and Development Program of China (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- Institute of Food Processing Research, China; Heilongjiang Province Key Laboratory of Food Processing, China; Institute of Soya Research, China
The paper
- Title
- Perilla Seed Oil and Protein: Composition, Health Benefits, and Potential Applications in Functional Foods
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Guan L, Zhu L, Zhang X, et al (2024). Perilla Seed Oil and Protein: Composition, Health Benefits, and Potential Applications in Functional Foods. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/molecules29225258Free full textPubMed 39598647DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error