**7. Utilization of sesame seed**

Sesame is grown for its seeds, and the primary use of the sesame seed is as a source of oil for cooking. The young leaves may also be eaten in stews, and the dried stems may be burnt as fuel with the ash used for local soap making, but such uses are entirely subordinate to seed production (Table 2). In West Africa, the shoots and young leaves of the varieties *S. alatum* and *S. radiatum* are eaten as a vegetable.


Source: Chemonics International Inc. (2002)

Table 2. Sesame Products

Sesame is commercialized in a number of forms. Most sesame is processed directly into oil by the grower or within the producing region, but can also be sold in various stages of processing, for various uses, such as meal, paste, confections, and bakery products. Sesame seeds can also be consumed directly as a highly nutritious foodstuff (Naturland, 2002). Sesame seeds have delicate nutty flavor. Their flavor indeed becomes more pronounced once they are gently roasted under low flame just for few minutes. De-hulled sesame seed is mainly used to add texture, taste and aesthetic value to a variety of bakery products like bread, bread sticks, cookies, sesame bars etc; and also as an additive to cereal mixes and crackers. It is also used in the making of tahin or sesame butter - a paste of ground sesame

Sesame is grown for its seeds, and the primary use of the sesame seed is as a source of oil for cooking. The young leaves may also be eaten in stews, and the dried stems may be burnt as fuel with the ash used for local soap making, but such uses are entirely subordinate to seed production (Table 2). In West Africa, the shoots and young leaves of the varieties *S. alatum*

Seeds Confectionery Fried seeds may be bound together with sugar

Seeds Biscuits The whole seeds can be baked into biscuits.

Oil Margarine Once an important use, now other cheaper

Low grade oil Various Soaps paints, lubricants, and illuminants. Local

Oil Aerosol Reported use as a synergist for pyrethrum sprays

Eastern foods

Tahini Halva A sweet made from tahini and sugar with other added flavorings

seeds Ingredient Used in some Indian cooking. Also as a snack in,

Sesame is commercialized in a number of forms. Most sesame is processed directly into oil by the grower or within the producing region, but can also be sold in various stages of processing, for various uses, such as meal, paste, confections, and bakery products. Sesame seeds can also be consumed directly as a highly nutritious foodstuff (Naturland, 2002). Sesame seeds have delicate nutty flavor. Their flavor indeed becomes more pronounced once they are gently roasted under low flame just for few minutes. De-hulled sesame seed is mainly used to add texture, taste and aesthetic value to a variety of bakery products like bread, bread sticks, cookies, sesame bars etc; and also as an additive to cereal mixes and crackers. It is also used in the making of tahin or sesame butter - a paste of ground sesame

Cake Animal feed Protein rich useful supplement

syrup to give sweetmeats.

used hulled or whole.

vegetable oils are available

spreads such as hummus

Popular in northern Europe either incorporated into breads or as decorative toppings. May be

Particularly used in oriental cuisine. The flavor is quite strong and rarely compatible with traditional Western style cooking but also used as a salad oil.

uses, of no importance in international trade

A paste of sesame seeds which is used as an ingredient in eastern Mediterranean and Middle

Various ingredients, such as chickpeas or eggplants, are added to tahini to make dips and

for example, the Nigerian Kulikuli.

**Input Products Description and Uses** 

Oil Medicinal treatment Ulcers and burns

**7. Utilization of sesame seed** 

and *S. radiatum* are eaten as a vegetable.

(Hulled) seeds Bakery

roasted Oil

Hulled seeds Tahini

Source: Chemonics International Inc. (2002)

Tahini Dips & spreads

Seeds, sometimes

Cake from hulled

Table 2. Sesame Products

seeds, which is used as an ingredient (in Greece) and halva, placed within breads or sprinkled on the surface of bread and breadsticks as a garnish (Germany and the Netherlands) and for the preparation of rolls, crackers, cakes and pastry products in commercial bakeries (Nzikou et al., 2009). Ground and processed seeds can also be used in sweet confections, candies are made from sesame mixed with honey or syrup and roasted (in South Asia, middle East and East Asia) while sesame paste and starch are used to make *goma-dofu* (Japan). Sesame seed can also be in the manufacture of margarine, sprinkled over salads and desserts, particularly sundaes and other ice cream based preparations, preparation of gomshino (a Japanese delicacy) and soybean oil. It can also be used in other food dishes including Mexican and East Asian cuisines.

Sesame seed is primarily grown for its oil in Nigeria and the oil is a primary source of cooking oil in Eastern Nigeria. The major portion of sesame seed produced in countries like Nigeria and India is used for extraction of oil. Sesame oil is mostly used as traditional cooking oil in Chinese food items and in Japan. Sesame seed is an excellent source of high quality oil and protein, its oil is odourless and close in quality to olive oil (Tunde-Akintunde and Akintunde, 2007). Sesame oil has no odour, it is straw-like in colour and has an excellent taste. Sesame seed oil is a natural salad oil, requiring little or no winterization, is one of the few vegetable oils that can be used directly without refining and is used widely as cooking oil. Because of the excellent quality of the edible oil it produces, sesame is often called queen of the oil seed crops. Light sesame oil have a high smoke point and is suitable for deep-frying, while dark sesame oil (from roasted sesame seeds) has a slightly lower smoke point and is unsuitable for deepfrying. Instead it can be used for the stir frying of meats or vegetables, or for the making of an omelette. East Asian cuisines often use roasted sesame oil for seasoning. It is also used widely for production of magarine, shortening, canned sardine and beef as well as in soap and confectionary industries (NAERLS, 2010). Sesame oil has a high preservative effect though the seeds are prone to rancidity because of its high oil content. The oil prevents rancidity due to a preservative within the oil called sesamol. Sesame oil obtained during the first, cold pressing is one of the costliest produced. The oil is light yellow, does not dry out, and can be used with strong heat. Sesame oil obtained from the second, warm pressing and extraction has a lower quality than cold-pressed.

In the industry, sesame oil may be used as a solvent in injected drugs or intravenous drip solutions, a cosmetics carrier oil, to coat stored grains to prevent weevil attacks. The oil also has synergy with some insecticides. Lower grade sesame oil can be used locally in soaps, lubricants, and illuminants. Sesame oil can also be used as a raw material in the manufacture of inks (sesame oil yields a top quality ink after it is burnt), paints, and pharmaceuticals (as healing oil or a vehicle for drug delivery). The oil also has additional use in the industrial preparation of perfumery, cosmetics (skin conditioning agents and moisturizers, hair preparations, bath oils, hand products and make-up), insecticides and paints and varnishes. However, all of these uses are comparatively insignificant in terms of the quantities used.

The seed is typically crushed intact for the oil. This, however, yields a meal that is made bitter and somewhat indigestible by the presence of the fibrous husk. As such the meal is only useful as cattle feed. The quality of the meal can however be improved by removing the seed coat, dehulling, before crushing. In India, where sesame meal is an important food, this process is a standard feature of an oil extraction plant. The meal remaining after oil extraction has unique nutritional properties. It has a high protein concentration which is rich

Sesame Seed 93

cultivars (El Kheir et al., 2008). Saponification value varied from 174 – 196.32 mg/g for local and 182.31 - 198.02mg/g for improved, while the Peroxide value varied from 2.22 – 15.07 meq/H2O2/Kg for local and 2.24 – 10 meq/H2O2/Kg for improved. The acid value however varied form 3.1 – 6.6 mg/g for local and 3.1 – 9.3mg/g for introduced. The chemical properties of oil obtained from white Sudanese sesame seed are iodine value 113.35 g of I2 100 g-1 of oil, saponification value 186.60 mg KOH g-1 oil, peroxide value 0.14 meq O2 kg-1 oil, acid value 1.64 mg KOH g-1 oil, and free fatty acids 0.82 % of Oleic acid (Borchani et al., 2010). Oil obtained from solvent extraction of Northern Congo sesame seed had the following chemical properties; iodine value of 117.2 w ijs, free fatty acid value of 0.06 % oleic acid, saponification value of 197 and peroxide value of 0.06 (Nzikou et al., 2009; 2010). Generally the high iodine values of sesame oil is an indication of the presence of unsaturated fatty acid and this places the oil in the drying groups, The low value of free fatty acid shows that this oil is stable. The higher oxidative stability of raw sesame oil could be attributed to the presence of such natural antioxidants as tocopherols, sesamin and sesamolin (Elleuch et al., 2007). The saponification value is high and this suggests the use of the oil in production of liquid soap, shampoos and lather shaving creams. the peroxide value is lower than that expected of rancid oil, which ranges from 20.00 to 40.00 mg.gG1 oil

(Nzioku et al, 2010). This shows that sesame oil is not rancid is considered stable.

Sesame seed processing is basically done to clean and dehull seed as well as to extract oil from seed. Sesame can be processed to several different stages, such as simply cleaning, or cleaning and dehulling, cleaning/dehulling/drying, cleaning/dehulling/drying/crushing for oil, etc. Generally, sesame seeds are cleaned, dehulled (important because of presence of tannins which are located in hulls). In Nigeria, dehulling is done by soaking in a salt solution overnight. Seeds are rubbed in a mortar to loosen pericarp and then kernel is separated from oat by sedimentation washing (NAERLS, 2010). After dehulling, seeds are

Conditioning of oil seeds is an important operation in the production line of sesame oil. These activities include roasting, flaking, size reduction, cooking, pre-pressing and drying. Dehydrating and roasting of sesame seeds before oil expression improves sesame oil yield and quality. Also the oxidative stability of oil and by-products has been reported to depend on processing techniques and variety of seeds (Akinoso et al., 2010). Beniseed oil extraction is done traditionally in Nigeria by pounding the seeds in a mortar and pouring water into it (Tunde-Akintunde and Akintunde, 2007). The oil floats to the surface from where it can be removed by skimming. This method is slow and laborious and results in low oil yield. Other traditional methods involve crushing to paste using a local grinding machine. Boiling water is added to the paste, stirred and left for 24h. The oil floating on top of the paste is decanted and the process is repeated until negligible oil is formed (Fariku et al., 2007). Another oil extraction method is to roast seeds for 5 – 19 minutes at 180 – 210oC and then mill. Oil is pressed out by adding water to the milled product (NAERLS, 2010). After oil extraction, the

The processing of sesame products in the US is similar but the facilities used are different (Hansen, 2011). After harvesting, the seeds are cleaned and hulled. The seeds pass through

**9. Processing methods of sesame seed and products** 

cake is dried by sun drying and milled to obtain defatted flour.

washed and then dried usually with sun-drying.

in methionine, cysteine and tryptophan. Since these amino acids are missing from a number of other sources of vegetable protein, such as soya, sesame meal or flour can be added to recipes to give a better nutritional balance to health food products thus complementing most oil seeds and vegetable proteins very well. The seed cake is also an excellent protein supplement in the animal feed industry. The press cake can also be used for food enrichment of infant weaning foods (NAERLS, 2010).

Different cultures have different traditional uses for sesame. In Nigeria, industrial processing and utilization of sesame have not been fully developed. However, the product is locally processed and utilized in various forms in the states where the crop is cultivated. Principal among the products are: "*Kantun Ridi*" and "*Kunun Ridi*". At the local level, oil is also extracted from the seed and the cake is made into "*Kulikuli*" which together with the leaves are used to prepare local soup known as "*Miyar Taushe*". The oil is used locally for cooking as well as for medicinal purposes such as the treatment of ulcers and burns. The stem and the oil extract are equally used in making local soap. In all the states where sesame is cultivated, women are more involved in the local processing of sesame seed into commercial products.

In Japan, tan and black sesame seed varieties are roasted and used for making the flavoring gomashio. In Greece the seeds are used in cakes, and in Togo they are a main soup ingredient. The seeds are also eaten on bread in Sicily and France (called "*ficelle sésame*", sesame thread). In Congo and Northern Angola, ground sesame or *wangila* is a delicious dish, especially when cooked with smoked fish or lobsters. In Manipur (North Eastern State of India), black sesame is used in the preparation of a favorite side dish called '*Thoiding*' and in '*Singju*' (a kind of salad). Also in Tamil Nadu, India, a ground powder, *Milagai Podi*, made of sesame and dry chili is used to enhance flavor and consumed along with other traditional foods

### **8. Oil characterization**

The different variety of sesame plant, cultivation climate, soil type, ripening stage, the harvesting time of the seeds and the extraction method used has an important effect on the yield and quality of oil obtained from sesame (Nigeria's Harvest, 2009; El Khier et al., 2008). Black seed types have been reported to contain less oil than white and brown seeded strains (Akinoso et al., 2010). Composition of fatty acids in sesame oil was also reported to be variable among the different cultivars worldwide (El Khier et al., 2008).

The chemical properties of oil are amongst the most important properties that determines the present condition of the oil. Free fatty acid and peroxide values are valuable measures of oil quality. The chemical properties of white and black sesame seed varieties from Hong, Adamawa State, Nigeria was determined. The unsaponifiable matter (% of oil), saponification value (mg KOH/g), iodine value (g/100 g) and free fatty acid (% Oleic) was 0.76, 150.26, 98.20 and 0.78 while that of the black variety was 0.71, 158.04, 106.26 and 0.73 respectively (Fariku et al., 2007). Oil obtained from another Nigerian variety (Goza-25) had the following properties; peroxide value varied from 3.9 and 15.4 meq/kg while oxidative stability varied from 13 h to 63.3 h (Akinoso et al., 2010). These values are significantly different from values obtained from varieties in other locations.

The iodine value of some local Sudanese and imported sesame seed cultivars varied from 101.52 to 114.85g/100g for the local cultivars and 97.70 to 111.30 g/100g for the introduced

in methionine, cysteine and tryptophan. Since these amino acids are missing from a number of other sources of vegetable protein, such as soya, sesame meal or flour can be added to recipes to give a better nutritional balance to health food products thus complementing most oil seeds and vegetable proteins very well. The seed cake is also an excellent protein supplement in the animal feed industry. The press cake can also be used for food

Different cultures have different traditional uses for sesame. In Nigeria, industrial processing and utilization of sesame have not been fully developed. However, the product is locally processed and utilized in various forms in the states where the crop is cultivated. Principal among the products are: "*Kantun Ridi*" and "*Kunun Ridi*". At the local level, oil is also extracted from the seed and the cake is made into "*Kulikuli*" which together with the leaves are used to prepare local soup known as "*Miyar Taushe*". The oil is used locally for cooking as well as for medicinal purposes such as the treatment of ulcers and burns. The stem and the oil extract are equally used in making local soap. In all the states where sesame is cultivated, women are more involved in the local processing of sesame seed into

In Japan, tan and black sesame seed varieties are roasted and used for making the flavoring gomashio. In Greece the seeds are used in cakes, and in Togo they are a main soup ingredient. The seeds are also eaten on bread in Sicily and France (called "*ficelle sésame*", sesame thread). In Congo and Northern Angola, ground sesame or *wangila* is a delicious dish, especially when cooked with smoked fish or lobsters. In Manipur (North Eastern State of India), black sesame is used in the preparation of a favorite side dish called '*Thoiding*' and in '*Singju*' (a kind of salad). Also in Tamil Nadu, India, a ground powder, *Milagai Podi*, made of sesame and dry

The different variety of sesame plant, cultivation climate, soil type, ripening stage, the harvesting time of the seeds and the extraction method used has an important effect on the yield and quality of oil obtained from sesame (Nigeria's Harvest, 2009; El Khier et al., 2008). Black seed types have been reported to contain less oil than white and brown seeded strains (Akinoso et al., 2010). Composition of fatty acids in sesame oil was also reported to be

The chemical properties of oil are amongst the most important properties that determines the present condition of the oil. Free fatty acid and peroxide values are valuable measures of oil quality. The chemical properties of white and black sesame seed varieties from Hong, Adamawa State, Nigeria was determined. The unsaponifiable matter (% of oil), saponification value (mg KOH/g), iodine value (g/100 g) and free fatty acid (% Oleic) was 0.76, 150.26, 98.20 and 0.78 while that of the black variety was 0.71, 158.04, 106.26 and 0.73 respectively (Fariku et al., 2007). Oil obtained from another Nigerian variety (Goza-25) had the following properties; peroxide value varied from 3.9 and 15.4 meq/kg while oxidative stability varied from 13 h to 63.3 h (Akinoso et al., 2010). These values are significantly

The iodine value of some local Sudanese and imported sesame seed cultivars varied from 101.52 to 114.85g/100g for the local cultivars and 97.70 to 111.30 g/100g for the introduced

chili is used to enhance flavor and consumed along with other traditional foods

variable among the different cultivars worldwide (El Khier et al., 2008).

different from values obtained from varieties in other locations.

enrichment of infant weaning foods (NAERLS, 2010).

commercial products.

**8. Oil characterization** 

cultivars (El Kheir et al., 2008). Saponification value varied from 174 – 196.32 mg/g for local and 182.31 - 198.02mg/g for improved, while the Peroxide value varied from 2.22 – 15.07 meq/H2O2/Kg for local and 2.24 – 10 meq/H2O2/Kg for improved. The acid value however varied form 3.1 – 6.6 mg/g for local and 3.1 – 9.3mg/g for introduced. The chemical properties of oil obtained from white Sudanese sesame seed are iodine value 113.35 g of I2 100 g-1 of oil, saponification value 186.60 mg KOH g-1 oil, peroxide value 0.14 meq O2 kg-1 oil, acid value 1.64 mg KOH g-1 oil, and free fatty acids 0.82 % of Oleic acid (Borchani et al., 2010). Oil obtained from solvent extraction of Northern Congo sesame seed had the following chemical properties; iodine value of 117.2 w ijs, free fatty acid value of 0.06 % oleic acid, saponification value of 197 and peroxide value of 0.06 (Nzikou et al., 2009; 2010).

Generally the high iodine values of sesame oil is an indication of the presence of unsaturated fatty acid and this places the oil in the drying groups, The low value of free fatty acid shows that this oil is stable. The higher oxidative stability of raw sesame oil could be attributed to the presence of such natural antioxidants as tocopherols, sesamin and sesamolin (Elleuch et al., 2007). The saponification value is high and this suggests the use of the oil in production of liquid soap, shampoos and lather shaving creams. the peroxide value is lower than that expected of rancid oil, which ranges from 20.00 to 40.00 mg.gG1 oil (Nzioku et al, 2010). This shows that sesame oil is not rancid is considered stable.
