Abstract: Objective To investigate effects of different doses of perilla seed oil on serum lipid profiles in rats.Methods Forty male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups:a control group,a lard control group,and low-,medium-,and high-dose (6%,10%,and 15%) perilla seed oil groups.At the end of the 8 weeks' treatments,levels of serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) of the rats were measured with enzymatic colorimetric assay;the level of serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was measured with phosphotungstic acid-magnesium precipitation method;the level of serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was measured with polyvinyl sulfate precipitation method.Liver indices and visceral fat/body weight ratio of the rats were calculated.Results Compared with the rats of control group,the rats of lard group showed a higher level of TC (1.90±0.37 mmol/L)(P<0.05).Compared with the rats of lard group,the rats of low-,medium-,and high-dose perilla seed oil showed lower levels of TC (1.54±0.36,1.22±0.14,and 1.34±0.22 mmol/L)(P<0.05 for all);the rats of high dose perilla seed oil group also showed lower levels of TG (0.44±0.11 mmol/L) and HDL-C (0.56±0.14 mmol/L) compared with the rats of lard group (0.65±0.11 mmol/L and 0.77±0.12mmol/L).Compared with the rats of the control group,the rats of other groups manifested higher liver indices.Conclusion Food containing perilla seed oil can decrease serum TC but the excessive perilla seed oil (15%) could decrease serum HDL-C in rats