A total of 162 accessions of Perilla germplasm collected from diverse habitats in South Korea. The oil content of the seeds varied from 19.8 to 49.6%, the average being 33.3%. Oil content showed wide ranges of variation. The fatty acid composition of the seed oil showed the following overall ranges: palmitic 4.5 to 8.1%, stearic 1.6 to 7.4%, oleic 13.4 to 23.6%, linoleic 9.5 to 19.5%, and linolenic acid 48.6 to 66.4%. No correlation was found between oil content and fatty acid composition. The results obtained in this study provide useful background information for developing new cultivars with a high oil content and different fatty acid. Several accessions could be used as parental lines in breeding programs aiming to increase perilla oil quantity and quality.

• Myoung-Hee Lee(Department of Functional Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA) Corresponding author
• Tae Joung Ha(Department of Functional Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA)
• Hyun-Tae Kim(Department of Functional Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA)
• Suk-Bok Pae(Department of Functional Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA)
• Chung-Dong Hwang(Department of Functional Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA)
• Chang-Hwan Park(Department of Functional Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA)
• Kang-Bo Shim(Department of Functional Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA)
• Chan-Sik Jung(Department of Functional Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA)
• Keum-Yong Park(Department of Functional Crop, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA)
• Hyeon-Kyeong Kim(Pusan National University College of Medicine)
• Soon-Ki Park(Division of Plant Biosciences, Kyungpook National University)