Perilla oil is commonly used in Korean cuisine, and it can also be used as a drying oil or fuel. Pressed from roasted seeds of the plant, the oil generally leaves behind a nutty taste.

More important than flavor, the oil has a very high omega-3 fatty acid content (more than 50 percent fatty acid) compared to most other plant oils.

The omega-3 content in perilla oil is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which you can also find in flaxseed, with lower amounts in walnuts, soy, and animal-based sources like fish oil.

Perilla oil also contains the vital omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids. These polyunsaturated fatty acids are beneficial to your health — especially for normal immune system functioning — and have been linked to improving memory-related conditions.

Past research, including a 2013 cellular-level studyTrusted Source involving perilla leaf extract, shows that the oil can help stop the chemicals that bring about allergic and inflammatory responses.

In a 2000 studyTrusted Source, people with asthma were followed for four weeks and given perilla seed extract to see if their lung function improved. Results showed that perilla oil can improve airflow by inhibiting the production of compounds that lead to asthma.

Perilla oil might also prevent and treat a variety of other conditions, such as colon cancer and memory problems.

Past research suggests that fish oil and some vegetable oils, both of which contain large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, can lessen the risk of colon cancer.

This has led scientists to test the effectiveness of perilla oil, which has even more omega-3 fatty acid content. In a 1994 studyTrusted Source on rats, results showed that getting just a small amount of perilla oil — about 25 percent of daily fat intake — can help reduce the risk of colon cancer.

The omega-6 and omega-9 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in perilla oil are known to improve cardiovascular health and prevent rheumatoid arthritis, among other benefits.