On the Oil Containing Tissue, the Essential Oil Contents and the Chemical Composition of Essential Oil in Perilla species

[摘要] (1) In the spice Perilla sp., oil glands are distributed chiefly on the surface of leaf blades. Oil drops are present also in mesophyll cells, but they can hardly be extracted by steam distillation. The coefficient of correlation between the number of oil glands per unit area and the percentage of the oil yield is very high. (2) The air temperature has close relation as its external factor controlling the oil production, and the oil content increases under the high temperature condition (reaching its maximum in August). The ear development is also related with the oil content, and the oil content in the leaves gets lowered significantly with the sprout of the ears. As its cause, it is considered that, by the formation of the ears and flowers, its internal substance is consumed and also by the transformation flow (movement from the leaves to the flowers and ears) of the essential-oil-forming substance, the secretory function of essential oil within the oil glands is lowered. (3) The chemical composition of the essential oil was examined by gaschromatography and it was found that the oil of leaves has higher percentage of l-perilla aldehyde and somewhat less percentage of l-linalool, l-menthol and l-perilla alcohol as compared with that of ears.

[学科分类] 农业科学（综合）