An Intestinal Propulsion Promoting Substance from Perilla frutescens and Its Mechanism of Action.

Perillaketone, a monoterpenoid component of the essential oil, was isolated from the leaf of PERILLA FRUTESCENS as an active principle of intestinal propulsion in mice. Pharmacological studies on the mechanism of action of this compound have suggested that the promotion of intestinal propulsion, which is accompanied with an increasing rate of the transport of contents through the intestinal canal, is largely due to stimulation of the motility of circular muscles of the intestine.