The names Cissus frutescens and Cissus arborea have a long history of confusion. Cissus frutescens Blanco belongs to the genus Melicope (Rutaceae) and we herein correct a nomenclatural mistake made by T.G. Hartley in the revision of Melicope. The name Melicope confusa (Merr.) P.S. Liu was accepted for this taxon by Hartley. However, Cissus frutescens Blanco represents the earliest name for this...

Perilla is a useful pharmaceutical and food product and is empirically consumed by humans. However, its properties have not been evaluated extensively. In this review, we summarize the progress made in research, focusing on the bioactivities of perilla. There are many in vitro and animal studies on the cytostatic activity and antiallergic effects, respectively, of perilla and its constituents. ...

Abstract Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising cancer treatment with fewer side effects, and it eliminates tumors in target tissues reactive oxygen species produced by photosensitizers (PS) light. In this study, we isolated methyl pheophorbide A, which induces photodynamic cell death the U937 SK-HEP-1 cells, from perilla leaves. Its potential as material for development of new PS was also e...

Oral administration of the perilla leaf extract (PLE) to mice inhibits inflammation, allergic response, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha production. We also found that PLE suppressed the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) production in vitro. Using the inhibitory activity of TNF-alpha production in vitro as the index for isolation, we searched the active constituents from PLE and isolated l...

Perilla frutescens var. acuta Kudo (PF) is a traditional Korean medicinal herb for allergic reaction regulation. In the present study, we investigated the effect of 30% ethanol extract powder of PF (EPPF) and rosmarinic acid (RA), the active compound of EPPF on various allergic reactions using in vivo and in vitro models. EPPF and RA significantly inhibited compound 48/48-induced systemic anaph...