Sesamol (II), a monophenolic antioxidant present in sesame oil, interacted readily with nitrite. In dilute aqueous solutions with II in excess, it rapidly and completely removed nitrite to produce an equivalent amount of 3,4-methylenedioxy-6-nitrosophenol (III); the rate was fastest at pH 2.0, followed by pH 3.0 and 4.0. In dilute solutions with nitrite in excess, the amount of III formed, which corresponded well to that of nitrite lost, was less than that of II initially present, and some side reactions may have occurred. Compound II prevented the N-nitrosation of dimethylamine, as did pyrocatechol and L-ascorbic acid, or accelerated the reaction, depending upon the conditions. Compound III showed a catalytic effect on the N-nitrosation. (Nitrosamines used as food additives are potential carcinogens.)
After ingestion, some sesamin is absorbed from the small intestine and some is converted by the intestinal microflora... to the mammalian lignan enterolactone (ENT), and to a lesser degree to the mammalian lignan, enterodiol (END)... Some sesamin is also absorbed in the small intestine and winds up in the liver where... undergoes oxidative transformation and demethylation to form a number of hydroxylated catechol metabolites... The catechol metabolites may get excreted in the bile and then get metabolized by the intestinal flora of the large intestine to ENT and ENL. /Sesamin/
6 participants (3 males, 3 females; 22 to 32 years old) took a single dose of Sesame oil (508 mmol sesamin, major sesame oil lignan) and their urine was collected for four 12-hour periods. The urine samples were treated with b-glucuronidase/ sulfatase and extracted with chloroform. The major urinary sesamin metabolite in the chloroform extract was characterized as (1R,2S,5R,6S)-6-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-(3,4- methylenedioxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3,3,0]octane using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectroscopy. The excretion of the sesamin catechol metabolite ranged from 22.3% to 38.6% (mean+/-SD, 29.3+/-5.6) of the ingested dose and happened mainly in the first 12 hours after ingestion.
IDENTIFICATION AND USE: Sesame oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the seeds of Sesamum indicum. It is widely used as edible oil in the countries of origin. A current pharmaceutical use for sesame oil in the US is as a "medical carrier" for injected drug or intravenous drip solutions. It also is used as a carrier or as part of a carrier formulation by the cosmetics industry. HUMAN EXPOSURE AND TOXICITY: Sesame oil is not a skin irritant, skin sensitizer, or photoallergen. However, it could cause severe IgE-mediated food allergic reactions among infants and young children: the main clinical manifestation was urticaria/angiedema , anaphylaxis was the presenting symptom in some patients; all of them were younger than 1 year. Some patients were found to be allergic to other foods, and other atopic diseases were identified as well. Three patients 'outgrew' their allergy within 1-2 years. In adults with sesame allergy, a pin and- needle sensation on the face, followed by the onset of chills, shakiness, and abdominal cramps, were reported after eating sesame oil. ANIMAL STUDIES: No treatment-related changes were observed in groups of rats following administration of sesame oil and observation for one year. Sesame oil was not carcinogenic or teratogenic in animals. However aerated sesame oil was a mild carcinogen. Sesame oil fed to larvae induced somatic mutations in Drosophila melanogaster, but it was not mutagenic in Ames test with Salmomella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 with or without S9 activation. However, the polar part of oils prepared from 240 and 260 °C of roasting temperatures showed weak mutagenicity to S. typhimurium TA98 with S9 activation. Furthermore, mice receiving either 9% or 12% sesame oil in their diet for 8 weeks presented a statistically increased aflatoxin B1-induced aberration rate as compared to those given a diet containing 3% sesame oil.
Antibiotics: Concomitant use with sesame seed lignans may decrease the production of the mammalian lignans enterolactone (ENT) and enterodiol (END) from sesame seed lignans. /Sesame seed lignans/
A single dose of the sesame seed lignans sesamin and sesamolin (136 mg) was found to reduce the urinary excretion of co-administered gamma-tocopherol in a human study. /Sesame seed lignans/
In this study, ...the distribution and metabolism of refined sesame oil lignans (sesamin and episesamin) in rat /was examined/. For 8 wk rats were fed the diet including 0.5% (w/w) sesame lignans (sesamin and episesamin) with 5% (w/w) corn oil or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)-rich oil. The concentrations of sesamin and episesamin in rat liver after their administration for 8 wk were very low; both of them were <0.5 ug/g liver. These were observed in both oil groups although the fatty acid compositions of dietary oils were completely different. No significant difference existed in lymphatic absorption between sesamin and episesamin. To investigate the distribution of sesamin and episesamin in rats, the concentrations of sesamin and episesamin were determined in tissues and serum within 24 hr after administration to rats. Sesamin and episesamin may be, at first, incorporated into the liver and then transported to the other tissues (lung, heart, kidney, and brain). They are lost from the body within 24 hr after administration. There was no significant difference in lymphatic absorption between sesamin and episesamin, but the amount of sesamin was significantly lower than that of episesamin in all tissues and serum. These results suggest that sesamin is absorbed in lymph the same as episesamin, but that sesamin is subsequently metabolized faster by the liver. /Sesamin and episesamin/
... In experiment 1, rats (4-wk-old) were fed the diet with alpha-tocopherol alone or with alpha- and gamma-tocotrienols. In experiment 2, the effect of dietary sesame seeds on tocopherol and tocotrienol concentrations in rats fed the diet with tocopherol and tocotrienol was studied. The rats were fed the experimental diet for 8 wk in both experiments. alpha- and gamma-Tocotrienols accumulated in the adipose tissue and skin, but not in plasma or other tissues, of the rats fed tocotrienols. Dietary sesame seeds elevated (P<0.05) tocotrienol concentrations in the adipose tissue and skin, but did not affect their concentrations in other tissues or in plasma. The gamma-tocopherol concentration in all tissues and plasma of rats fed gamma-tocopherol was extremely low but was elevated (P<0.05) in many tissues by feeding sesame seeds. These data suggest that the transport and tissue uptake of vitamin E isoforms are different. Dietary sesame seeds elevate the concentrations of both tocopherols and tocotrienols. /Sesame seeds/
Groups of young adult albino rats were dosed, either subcutaneously (SC) or intraperitoneally (IP), with sesame oil, and killed after approximately 1 year on test. One female rat in the 62-mL IP group had a massive deposition of sesame oil within the parenchyma of the lung, which was considered evidence of systemic distribution of sesame oil after IP dosing. Overall, there was a tendency for sesame oil to migrate within the body of the rat following IP or SC injection. Following SC injection, the test substance tended to pool in the SC tissue of the ventral abdomen. A similar pattern of distribution in the SC tissue was noted in all groups of rats dosed IP with sesame oil.
