It was concluded that sesame consumption can significantly reduce blood TAG levels but there is insufficient evidence to support its hypocholesterolaemic effects .
Increased plasma lipid profiles are among the most important risk factors of CHD and stroke .
Sesame contains considerable amounts of vitamin E , MUFA , fibre and lignans , which are thought to be associated with its plasma lipid-lowering properties .
Sesame ingestion affects sex hormones, antioxidant status, and blood lipids in postmenopausal women.
Sesame ingestion has been shown to improve blood lipids in humans and antioxidative ability in animals . Sesamin , a sesame lignan , was recently reported to be converted by intestinal microflora to enterolactone , a compound with estrogenic activity and also an enterometabolite of flaxseed lignans , which are known to be phytoestrogens . Whether sesame can be a source of phytoestrogens is unknown . This study was design ed to investigate the effect of sesame ingestion on blood sex hormones , lipids , tocopherol , and ex vivo LDL oxidation in postmenopausal women . Twenty-six healthy subjects attended , and 24 completed , this r and omized , placebo-controlled , crossover study . Half of them consumed 50 g sesame seed powder daily for 5 wk , followed by a 3-wk washout period , then a 5-wk 50-g rice powder placebo period . The other half received the 2 supplements in reverse order . After sesame treatment , plasma total cholesterol ( TC ) , LDL-C , the ratio of LDL-C to HDL-C , thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in oxidized LDL , and serum dehydroepi and rosterone sulfate decreased significantly by 5 , 10 , 6 , 23 , and 18 % , respectively . The ratio of alpha- and gamma-tocopherol to TC increased significantly by 18 and 73 % , respectively . All of these variables differed significantly between the 2 treatments . Serum sex hormone-binding globulin and urinary 2-hydroxyestrone ( n = 8) increased significantly by 15 and 72 % , respectively , after sesame treatment , and these concentrations tended to differ ( P = 0.065 and P = 0.090 , respectively ) from those after the placebo treatment . These results suggest that sesame ingestion benefits postmenopausal women by improving blood lipids , antioxidant status , and possibly sex hormone status
It was concluded that sesame consumption can significantly reduce blood TAG levels but there is insufficient evidence to support its hypocholesterolaemic effects .
Increased plasma lipid profiles are among the most important risk factors of CHD and stroke .
Sesame contains considerable amounts of vitamin E , MUFA , fibre and lignans , which are thought to be associated with its plasma lipid-lowering properties .