Surface Chemistry Study of the Interactions of Sesame Oil with Meibomian Films

A possible approach for the treatment of meibomian gland disease (MGD) can be the supplementation of meibomian gland secretion (MGS) with nonpolar lipids (NPL) rich plant oils. Sesame oil (SO), approximately equal in monounsaturated fat (oleic acid, 40% of total) and polyunsaturated fat (linoleic acid, 42% of total), has shown multiple health benefits due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Thus, the interactions between SO and MGS in surface layers deserve further study. Therefore, pseudobinary films were formed with controlled MGS/SO molar ratios (0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, and 100% SO) at the air/water surface of the Langmuir trough over phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) subphase. Surface pressure (π)-area (A) isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy observations showed nonideal interactions where SO aggregates with MGS and complements the NPL stratum of the meibomian layers. The analysis of stress relaxation transients with Kohlrausch–Williams–Watts equation revealed that the supplementation of fixed amount of MGS with excess lipids via SO altered the dilatational elasticity of the films as reflected by the increase of the exponent β. Thus, SO with its unique combination of high oxidative stability and abundance of long polyunsaturated acyl chains might be a useful supplement to MGS layers.

Bioactive β-Carbolines Harman and Norharman in Sesame Seed Oils in China

The β-carbolines in our diet, mainly including harman and norharman, are a group of biologically active, naturally occurring plant-derived alkaloids. Fragrant sesame seed oil is one of the most popular flavor edible oils in China. Considering that sesame seeds are roasted at 200–240 °C during the processing of flavor sesame seed oils, it is meaningful to investigate the levels of β-carboline compounds in various sesame seed oils. In this work, the levels of β-carbolines (harman and norharman) in different types of sesame seed oils in China (e.g., pressed fragrant sesame oil, ground fragrant sesame oil) have been determined systematically. The results showed that the levels of total β-carbolines in pressed fragrant sesame oils (700.5~2423.2 μg/kg) were higher than that in ground fragrant sesame oils (660.4~1171.7 μg/kg). Roasting sesame seeds at high temperatures (200–240 °C) led to higher levels of β-carbolines (660~2400 μg/kg) in fragrant sesame seed oils. In addition, the loss of tryptophan might be attributed to the formation of β-carbolines in sesame seeds during the roasting process. In general, fragrant sesame seed oils (pressed fragrant sesame oils, ground fragrant sesame oils) contain higher levels of β-carbolines due to the formation of harman and norharman during the roasting sesame seed process.

Topical Use of Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. (Qost) Oil in Pediatric Nocturnal Enuresis in Comparison with Sesame Oil, A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial

Nocturnal enuresis is one of the most common chronic problems of childhood. It has a significant effect on health and quality of life of children and their families. Despite pharmacological treatments, enuresis in most children relapses after the medication is discontinued. Also available drugs have many side effects that limited their uses. So, we compared the effect of topical use of Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. (Qost) oil as a Persian Medicine product on pediatric nocturnal enuresis in a parallel randomized double blinded study. Eighty-two patients aged 5 to 15 years who were diagnosed as monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis were allocated to receive costus oil or sesame oil topically below the navel twice a day for 4 weeks. Patients were evaluated prior to and following end of the study in terms of frequency of enuresis and any observed adverse events. The results were evaluated with valid PLUTSS questionnaire. For evaluation, Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests were used. Significant p value was < 0.05. A significant decrease in mean scores of the questionnaires was noted in both groups. The results before and after the intervention were significantly different in both groups, but there was no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups. At the end of the 4th week, the frequency and volume of enuresis showed a 46.2 percent reduction in costus oil group and a 25.5 percent reduction in sesame oil group. According to this study, the response rate based on PLUTSS questionnaire in costus oil group is 74.5%; while in the sesame oil group is 69%. No drug side effect was noticed in this study. Based on the results of this study, costus oil is effective in children with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis; however, there is no significant difference between costus oil and sesame oil.

Sesamol Attenuates Neuroinflammation by Regulating the AMPK/SIRT1/NF-κB Signaling Pathway after Spinal Cord Injury in Mice

Inflammation is one of the crucial mechanisms mediating spinal cord injury (SCI) progress. Sesamol, a component of sesame oil, has anti-inflammatory activity, but its mechanism in SCI remains unclear. We investigated if the AMPK/SIRT1/NF-κB pathway participated in anti-inflammation of sesamol in SCI. Sesamol could inhibit neuronal apoptosis, reduce neuroinflammation, enhance M2 phenotype microglial polarization, and improved motor function recovery in mice after SCI. Furthermore, sesamol increased SIRT1 protein expression and p-AMPK/AMPK ratio, while it downregulated the p-p65/p65 ratio, indicating that sesamol treatment upregulated the AMPK/SIRT1 pathway and inhibited NF-κB activation. However, these effects were blocked by compound C which is a specific AMPK inhibitor. Together, the study suggests that sesamol is a potential drug for antineuroinflammation and improving locomotor functional recovery through regulation of the AMPK/SIRT1/NF-κB pathway in SCI.

Organic Residues Analysis of Oil Bottle of Goryeo Dynasty Excavated from the Soejeoul Site, Geumneung-dong, Chungju

Organic residues are substances derived from diverse natural sources. Recent scientific analysis of organic residues has yielded important information in restoring the lifestyles of ancient peoples. In this study, the organic material contained within the celadon oil bottle of the Goryeo dynasty, excavated from the Soejoul site in Geumneung-dong, Chungju, was analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The results showed that the organic materials in the bottle were plant-derived oils. In particular, polyunsaturated fatty acids and phytosterols were detected using GC-MS analysis. Sesamin components were also identified. Sesamin, which is a characteristic component of sesame seeds, is a lignan and an antioxidant. As the organic residues in the oil bottle were derived from sesame seeds, it is presumed that sesame oil was stored in the bottle.

Controlling Microdroplet Inner Rotation by Parallel Carrier Flow of Sesame and Silicone Oils

We developed a method for passively controlling microdroplet rotation, including interior rotation, using a parallel flow comprising silicone and sesame oils. This device has a simple 2D structure with a straight channel and T-junctions fabricated from polydimethylsiloxane. A microdroplet that forms upstream moves into the sesame oil. Then, the largest flow velocity at the interface of the two oil layers applies a rotational force to the microdroplet. A microdroplet in the lower oil rotates clockwise while that in the upper oil rotates anti-clockwise. The rotational direction was controlled by a simple combination of sesame and silicone oils. Droplet interior flow was visualized by tracking microbeads inside the microdroplets. This study will contribute to the efficient creation of chiral molecules for pharmaceutical and materials development by controlling rotational direction and speed.

A Quasi Experimental Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Sesame Oil on Radiation Induced Xerostomia among patients with Head and Neck Cancer

A quasi experimental study to evaluate the efficacy of sesame oil on radiation induced xerostomia among patients with head and neck cancer. Non randomized quasi experimental pretest posttest control group design was adopted in this study. By using purposive sampling technique, 26 samples were selected based on inclusion criteria, 13 in experimental and 13 in control group. The demographic variables, clinical profile of the samples were collected, the level of Xerostomia was assessed by modified GRIX questionnaire in both experimental and control group. Intervention was given to experimental group and routine treatment was given to control group. It was identified that the mean level of Xerostomia among head and neck cancer patient in the experimental and control group was 51.08 and 30.4 respectively with mean difference of 20.54. Likewise the standard deviation of the experimental and control group was 4.63 and 4.92 respectively. The calculated ‘t’ value 10.96 was greater than the table value of 2.06 at 0.05 level of significance. Hence, it was concluded that sesame oil mouth rinsing is an effective method to reduce the radiation induced Xerostomia among patient with head and neck cancer.

Reflectance Spectroscopy with Multivariate Methods for Non-Destructive Discrimination of Edible Oil Adulteration

The visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) reflectance spectroscopy was utilized for the rapid and nondestructive discrimination of edible oil adulteration. In total, 110 samples of sesame oil and rapeseed oil adulterated with soybean oil in different levels were produced to obtain the reflectance spectra of 350–2500 nm. A set of multivariant methods was applied to identify adulteration types and adulteration rates. In the qualitative analysis of adulteration type, the support vector machine (SVM) method yielded high overall accuracy with multiple spectra pretreatments. In the quantitative analysis of adulteration rate, the random forest (RF) combined with multivariate scattering correction (MSC) achieved the highest identification accuracy of adulteration rate with the full wavelengths of Vis-NIR spectra. The effective wavelengths of the Vis-NIR spectra were screened to improve the robustness of the multivariant methods. The analysis results suggested that the competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) was helpful for removing the redundant information from the spectral data and improving the prediction accuracy. The PLSR + MSC + CARS model achieved the best prediction performance in the two adulteration cases of sesame oil and rapeseed oil. The coefficient of determination (RPcv2) and the root mean square error (RMSEPcv) of the prediction set were 0.99656 and 0.01832 in sesame oil adulterated with soybean oil, and the RPcv2 and RMSEPcv were 0.99675 and 0.01685 in rapeseed oil adulterated with soybean oil, respectively. The Vis-NIR reflectance spectroscopy with the assistance of multivariant analysis can effectively discriminate the different adulteration rates of edible oils.