Sesame

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an annual shrub that belongs to the Pedaliaceae family. It has been cultivated throughout the world and used for food flavoring, essential oil applications, and in traditional medicine for thousands of years. Mostly, sesame contains tocopherols, lignans (sesamol, sesamolin, and sesamin) and sterols (campesterol, stigmasterol, cholesterol, Δ5-avenasterol, Δ7-ave-nasterol, β-sitosterol, and Δ7-stigmasterol) contents. The extent of these chemicals varies depending on the type of species or cultivar as well as cultivation conditions such as soil type, weather, pruning, irrigation, and other horticulture practices. More uses and applications of sesame by-products are continuously added. Further, research on maximizing yield per hectare and optimum preservation shows that oil extraction methods are needed, particularly in the developing world where sesame seed harvesting and postharvest processing methods are more traditional.