article · Discover Sustainability
Sesame is an important cash crop supporting smallholder farmers and commercial agricultural enterprises across cultivation, processing, and export sectors. It features a rich nutritional profile, comprising 45 to 55 percent oil and 17 to 40 percent protein, alongside significant amounts of oleic and linoleic essential fatty acids. The seeds also supply abundant bioactive compounds, including phenolics, lignans, phytosterols, and gamma-tocopherol, which provide documented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antidiabetic properties. These diverse biochemical attributes support practical uses spanning culinary ingredients, functional foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and bioenergy. Nevertheless, sesame remains underexploited because of deficiencies in breeding innovations, dedicated research, and technological processing advancements. Strategic investments into genetic crop improvement, sustainable farming techniques, and systematic investigation of sesame by-products are essential to stimulate broader agro-industrial growth and unlock economic opportunities for producers.
Sesame supports rural livelihoods across farming, processing, and trade networks. Better understanding and exploitation of its high oil, protein, and antioxidant content can foster preventative health solutions through functional foods and medicines. Furthermore, expanding industrial applications helps farming communities capture greater economic value locally, transforming a traditional cash crop into a driver of sustainable regional agricultural growth.
Sesame oil and its by-products offer commercial potential across functional food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and bioenergy sectors. Potential end users include food manufacturers, cosmetic formulators, and industrial bioprocessors. However, the abstract indicates this opportunity is at an early review stage, noting that real-world deployment remains constrained by a lack of breeding innovations, technological advancements, and targeted research into processing and by-product valorisation.
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Sesame ( Sesamum indicum L .) is a vital cash crop that underpins the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and medium to large-scale private farms, along with numerous stakeholders involved in its cultivation, processing, and export. The review details sesame’s rich nutritional composition, including, its substantial oil content (45–55%), high protein levels (17–40%), and a diverse array of bioactive compounds, such as lignans, tocopherols, phytosterols, and essential fatty acids (notably oleic acid 36–54% and linoleic acid 38–49%). Compositionally, sesame seeds contain approximately 26.60 to 54.85% unsaturated fats, with minor unsaturated fats ranging from 0.13 to 0.89% and saturated fats constituting up to 10.58%. The antioxidant capacity is further characterized by phenolic compounds (67–154 mg/100 g), lignans (405–1178 mg/100 g), γ-tocopherol (46.8–51.7 mg/100 g), and phytosterols (740.2–896.4 mg/100 g). These constituents confer industrial applications and various health benefits, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antidiabetic properties. The review also discusses critical quality parameters, global production trends, and the extensive applications of sesame across culinary, functional food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and bioenergy applications. Despite its recognized potential, sesame remains underexploited due to limited research, breeding innovations, and technological advancements. To unlock its full potential, strategic efforts in genetic improvement, sustainable cultivation practices, and targeted research into its bioactive constituents, by-products, and industrial applications are imperative. Harnessing these opportunities can promote improved health outcomes and economic development in sesame-producing regions, positioning sesame as a promising crop for future value addition and agro-industrial growth.
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DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04270-x
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