Spectroscopic evaluation of sesame and mustard oils treated with Murchana method.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in traditional medicinal practices such as Ayurveda, which emphasizes the use of natural ingredients for various therapeutic purposes. Vegetable oils are an integral part of our diet and have several applications in the cosmetics and healthcare industries. These oils have also been prescribed in ancient Ayurveda texts to treat various health problems. Ayurveda prescribes a processing technique called 'Murchana' to improve the therapeutic nature of the oils. Spectroscopic techniques have been used for quality assessment in many fields. High sensitivity and a low detection rate make spectroscopy a formidable analytical technique. This study focusses on the spectroscopic analysis of sesame and mustard oils prepared using the ayurvedic processing method 'Murchana'. Spectroscopic analysis techniques including UV-Vis absorbance spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy were employed to study the oils. Origin software was used to plot graphs of the spectra. The results indicated that the murchana process may reduce the components of the oil responsible for its oxidation, thereby increasing the shelf life of the oils. However, further investigations, including other spectroscopy and chromatography techniques, will prove beneficial in ascertaining the effects of the murchana process on vegetable oils. The study's findings also suggest that spectroscopic techniques can be used to supplement chemical techniques to investigate the characteristics of vegetable oils.

Floral visitors of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.): Elucidating their nectar-robbing behaviour and impacts on the plant reproduction.

Nectar robbing is common in angiosperms, especially in long tubular flowers or flowers with spurs that keep nectar out of reach of visitors. However, the robbing behaviour of bees is less understood. Here, we studied the sesame visitors, their robbing behaviour, and the impacts of robbing on plant reproductive fitness. Diverse insect species (primarily members of Hymenoptera) visited sesame flowers. The most effective pollinators were Amegilla zonata, Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Apis florea, Ceratina binghami, Halictus acrocephalus and Xylocopa amethystina. Almost all visitors with variable percentages revealed the nectar-robbing phenomenon. Robbing activity depended on a complex of multiple attributes, including the visitor's body size, the corolla tube length, the availability and accessibility of nectar, and the resource-collecting task allocation of bees. Robbing activity varied according to flower-visiting species, flowering period and daytime. Robbing was comparatively higher in the late flowering period at 10.00-14.00 h. In the case of robbing visits, flower handling time was lower, and the visitation rate remained higher than non-robbing visits. Robbing visits did not significantly affect fruit and seed sets of sesame. Therefore, we can interpret the nectar-robbing interactions on sesame as commensal, with pollinators benefitting without altering the plant's reproductive fitness.

Mechanism of Mulberry Leaves and Black Sesame in Alleviating Slow Transit Constipation Revealed by Multi-Omics Analysis.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) possesses the potential of providing good curative effects with no side effects for the effective management of slow transit constipation (STC), an intestinal disease characterized by colonic dyskinesia. Mulberry leaves (Morus alba L.) and black sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), referred to as SH, are processed and conditioned as per standardized protocols. SH has applications as food and medicine. Accordingly, we investigated the therapeutic potential of SH in alleviating STC. The analysis of SH composition identified a total of 504 compounds. The intervention with SH significantly improved intestinal motility, reduced the time for the first black stool, increased antioxidant activity, and enhanced water content, thereby effectively alleviating colon damage caused by STC. Transcriptome analysis revealed the SH in the treatment of STC related to SOD1, MUC2, and AQP1. The analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated notable differences in the abundance of 10 bacteria between the SH and model. Metabolomic analysis further revealed that SH supplementation increased the levels of nine metabolites associated with STC. Integrative analysis revealed that SH modulated amino acid metabolism, balanced intestinal flora, and targeted key genes (i.e., SOD1, MUC2, AQP1) to exert its effects. SH also inhibited the AQP1 expression and promoted SOD1 and MUC2 expression.

An Evaluation of the Physicochemical Properties of Sesame Paste Produced by Ball Milling Compared against Conventional Colloid Milling.

The physicochemical characteristics and general food quality were greatly impacted by milling. In order to investigate the effect of milling technique for physicochemical properties of sesame paste of sesame paste, samples were prepared using ball mill and colloid mill by varying grinding times. The samples prepared by ball milling had the higher moisture contents (0.07% - 0.14%) than colloid milling (p < 0.05), except for colloid milling for one cycle (0.11%). The particle size curves showed the multimodal distributions. Compared to colloid milled samples, ball milled samples have smaller particle sizes and more uniform particle distribution. The L* values of samples prepared by ball milling were higher than colloid milling. The ball mill produced sesame paste with a wider range of hardness and silkier texture, and the samples made by ball milling for 30 min had the highest hardness. And the hardness of both CMS and BMS showed a decreasing trend with increasing grinding time. During ball milling, high-speed cutting and collision caused breakage of disulfide bonds, and the sesame proteins were decomposed to their subunits. In conclusions, ball milling may be an alternative and promising process for the preparation of sesame paste.

Effect of Dehulling Pretreatment on the Flavor of Sesame Paste.

Gas chromatography-olfactory-mass spectrometry (GC-O-MS) combined with Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis (AEDA) were employed to characterize the key odor-active compounds in sesame paste (SP) and dehulled sesame paste (DSP). The AEDA results revealed the presence of 32 and 22 odor-active compounds in SP and DSP, respectively. Furthermore, 13 aroma compounds with FD ≥ 2, OAV ≥ 1, and VIP ≥ 1 were identified as key differential aroma compounds between SP and DSP. Specifically, compounds such as 3-methylbutyraldehyde (OAV = 100.70-442.57; fruity), 2-methylbutyraldehyde (OAV = 106.89-170.31; almond), m-xylene (FD = 16; salty pastry), and 2,5-dimethylpyrazine (FD = 8-16; roasted, salty pastry) played an important role in this differentiation. Additionally, the dehulling process led to increased fermented, sweet, green, and nutty aroma notes in DSP compared to the more pronounced burnt and roasted sesame aroma notes in SP. Our findings offer a theoretical foundation for the regulation of sesame paste aroma profiles.

Potassium attenuates drought damage by regulating sucrose metabolism and gene expression in sesame leaf.

Drought has been considered the most restrictive environmental constraint on agricultural production worldwide. Photosynthetic carbohydrate metabolism is a critical biochemical process connected with crop production and quality traits. A pot experiment was carried out under four potassium (K) rates (0, 0.75, 1.5 and 2.25 g pot-1 of K, respectively) and two water regimes to investigate the role of K in activating defense mechanisms on sucrose metabolism against drought damage in sesame. The soil moisture contents are 75 ± 5% (well-watered, WW) and 45 ± 5% (drought stress, DS) of field capacity respectively. The results showed that DS plants without K application have lower activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), soluble acid invertase (SAI), and chlorophyll content and higher activity of sucrose synthase (SuSy), which resulted in declined synthesis and distribution of photosynthetic products to reproductive organs. Under drought, there was a significant positive correlation between leaf sucrose metabolizing enzymes and sucrose content. Plants subjected to drought stress increased the concentrations of soluble sugar and sucrose to produce osmo-protectants and energy sources for plants acclimating to stress but decreased starch content. Conversely, K application enhanced the carbohydrate metabolism, biomass accumulation and partitioning, thereby contributing to higher seed oil and protein yield (28.8%-43.4% and 27.5%-40.7%) as compared to K-deficiency plants. The positive impacts of K application enhanced as increasing K rates, and it was more pronounced in drought conditions. Furthermore, K application upregulated the gene expression of SiMYB57, SiMYB155, SiMYB176 and SiMYB192 while downregulated SiMYB108 and SiMYB171 in drought conditions, which may help to alleviate drought susceptibility. Conclusively, our study illustrated that the enhanced photo-assimilation and translocation process caused by the changes in sucrose metabolism activities under K application as well as regulation of MYB gene expression contributes towards drought resistance of sesame.

Comparison of methods for activating sesame stalk lignin biochar for removing benzo[a]pyrene from sesame oil.

In this study, three activators and two activation methods were employed to activate sesame lignin-based biochar. The biochar samples were comprehensively characterized, their abilities to adsorb benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) from sesame oil were assessed, and the mechanism was analyzed. The results showed that the biochar obtained by one-step activation was more effective in removing BaP from sesame oil than the biochar produced by two-step activation. Among them, the biochar generated by one-step activation with ZnCl2 as the activator had the largest specific surface area (1068.8776 m3/g), and the richest mesoporous structure (0.7891 m3/g); it removed 90.53 % of BaP from sesame oil. BaP was mainly adsorbed by the mesopores of biochar. Mechanistically, pore-filling, π-π conjugations, hydrogen bonding, and n-π interactions were involved. The adsorption was spontaneous and heat-absorbing. In conclusion, the preparation of sesame lignin biochar using one-step activation with ZnCl2 as the activator was found to be the best for removing BaP from sesame oil. This biochar may be an economical adsorbent for the industrial removal of BaP from sesame oil.

Effects of fermentation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NCU116 on the antihypertensive activity and protein structure of black sesame seed.

Effects of fermentation by Lactobacillus Plantarum NCU116 on the antihypertensive potential of black sesame seed (BSS) and structure characteristics of fermented black sesame seed protein (FBSSP) were investigated. Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition and zinc chelating ability of fermented black sesame seed hydrolysate (FBSSH) reached the highest of 60.78 ± 3.67 % and 2.93 ± 0.04 mg/mL at 48 h and 60 h of fermentation, respectively. Additionally, the antioxidant activities of FBSSH and surface hydrophobicity of FBSSP were increased noticeably by fermentation. The α-helix and ß-rotation of FBSSP tended to decrease and increase, respectively, during fermentation. Correlation analysis indicated strong positive relationships between ß-turn and ACE inhibition activity as well as zinc chelating ability with correlation coefficients r of 0.8976 and 0.8932. Importantly, novel ACE inhibitory peptides LLLPYY (IC50 = 12.20 µM) and ALIPSF (IC50 = 558.99 µM) were screened from FBSSH at 48 h using in silico method. Both peptides showed high antioxidant activities in vitro. Molecular docking analysis demonstrated that the hydrogen bond connected with zinc ions of ACE mainly attributed to the potent ACE inhibitory activity of LLLPYY. The findings indicated that fermentation by Lactobacillus Plantarum NCU116 is an effective method to enhance the antihypertensive potential of BSS.

Sesame bacterial wilt significantly alters rhizosphere soil bacterial community structure, function, and metabolites in continuous cropping systems.

Bacterial wilt is the leading disease of sesame and alters the bacterial community composition, function, and metabolism of sesame rhizosphere soil. However, its pattern of change is unclear. Here, the purpose of this study was to investigate how these communities respond to three differing severities of bacterial wilt in mature continuously cropped sesame plants by metagenomic and metabolomic techniques, namely, absence (WH), moderate (WD5), and severe (WD9) wilt. The results indicated that bacterial wilt could significantly change the bacterial community structure in the rhizosphere soil of continuously cropped sesame plants. The biomarker species with significant differences will also change with increasing disease severity. In particular, the gene expression levels of Ralstonia solanacearum in the WD9 and WD5 treatments increased by 25.29% and 33.61%, respectively, compared to those in the WH treatment (4.35 log10 copies g-1). The occurrence of bacterial wilt significantly altered the functions of the bacterial community in rhizosphere soil. KEEG and CAZy functional annotations revealed that the number of significantly different functions in WH was greater than that in WD5 and WD9. Bacterial wilt significantly affected the relative content of metabolites, especially acids, in the rhizosphere soil, and compared with those in the rhizosphere soil from WH, 10 acids (including S-adenosylmethionine, N-acetylleucine, and desaminotyrosine, etc.) in the rhizosphere soil from WD5 or WD9 significantly increased. In comparison, the changes in the other 10 acids (including hypotaurine, erucic acid, and 6-hydroxynicotinic acid, etc.) were reversed. The occurrence of bacterial wilt also significantly inhibited metabolic pathways such as ABC transporter and amino acid biosynthesis pathways in rhizosphere soil and had a significant impact on two key enzymes (1.1.1.11 and 2.6.1.44). In conclusion, sesame bacterial wilt significantly alters the rhizosphere soil bacterial community structure, function, and metabolites. This study enhances the understanding of sesame bacterial wilt mechanisms and lays the groundwork for future prevention and control strategies against this disease.

New discovery of the coalescence kinetics of sesame oil droplets under a high internal phase: A highly efficient oil extraction technique.

Traditional pressing is of low efficiency (< 80 %). A highly efficient sesame oil extraction technique was discovered via micro-hydration of sesame paste (φ = ∼ 75 %) and then agitation with a yield of âˆ¼ 95 %. However, the extraction mechanism is still unknown. To uncover this, microscopic imaging was used, and it found that agitation progressively increased the droplet size of micro-hydrated paste (φ = 74.5 %) from an initial size of < 4 µm. As agitated for 20 min, almost 85 % (v/v) of oil was over 20 µm, which was linearly and positively correlated (R2 > 0.96) with oil yield. Increase in droplet size was due to droplet compression, film rupture, and droplet coalescence. The coalescence frequency based on agitation time followed an exponent curve (R2 > 0.97). This coalescence might be related to the decreased water relaxation time and increased paste viscosity. This study, for the first time, found the oil droplet coalescence in hydrated sesame paste (φ = 74.5 %) during agitation, thereby successfully extracting oil at room temperature. The findings of this work can be a starting point for research on micro-hydration extraction for oil-containing materials from a packing density of oil droplets point view.

First nanoplate digital PCR method to trace allergenic foods: Improved sensitivity for the detection of sesame.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an important allergenic food whose presence can be the cause of severe allergic reactions in sensitised individuals. In this work, nanoplate digital PCR (ndPCR) was used to develop two methods to detect trace amounts of sesame in processed foods and compared with previously proposed real-time PCR assays. Two independent ndPCR approaches were successfully advanced, achieving sensitivities of 5 and 0.1 mg/kg of sesame in dough/biscuits, targeting the CO6b-1 and ITS regions, respectively. The sensitivity using both targets was improved by one order of magnitude comparing with real-time PCR and was not affected by food processing. CO6b-1 system was not influenced by food matrix, exhibiting similar performance regardless the use of complex matrix extracts or serial diluted DNA. Herein, ndPCR was proposed for the first time for the detection of allergenic foods with the advantage of providing better performance than real-time PCR regarding sensitivity and robustness.

Effect of sesame supplementation on body composition and lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the impact of sesame supplementation on body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), triglycerides (TGs), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). DATA SYNTHESIS: PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and Embase were searched without any restrictions until September 2023.Only RCTs reporting the effects of sesame supplementation on body composition and lipid profiles were included, while observational studies and animal models were excluded. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Out of 997 studies identified, 10 were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis suggested a significant association between sesame supplementation and reduction in TG (weighted mean difference (WMD): -37.61 mg/dl, 95 % CI: -61.48, 13.73), TC (WMD: -32.69 mg/dl, 95 % CI: -47.26, 18.12), and LDL-C (WMD: -28.72 mg/dl, 95 % CI: -44.68, 12.76). However, our meta-analysis indicated that the supplementary intake of sesame had no significant effect on HDL-C, BW, and BMI in patients with T2DM. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that sesame consumption significantly lowered TG, TC, and LDL-C levels, which may have contributed to the improvement of clinical symptoms in T2DM. However, given the limited number of trials included in the analysis, additional large-scale studies are needed to confirm the effects of sesame consumption on the lipid profile and body composition in patients with T2DM. PROSPERO CODE: CRD42023460630.

Evaluation of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) varieties for drought tolerance using agromorphological traits and drought tolerance indices.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an important cash crop cultivated under rain-fed conditions where it contributes a significant proportion of Ethiopia's foreign exchange earnings. However, its productivity is constrained by drought stress. The present study aimed to evaluate the agromorphological and yield performance of sesame varieties and to identify drought tolerant varieties using drought tolerance indices. The sesame varieties were evaluated under well-watered (WW) and water-stressed (WS) field conditions with a factorial design laid down in randomized complete block design in three replications. The results revealed the presence of a significant variation in agromorphological traits and drought tolerance indices due to water levels, varieties and their interactive effect. On average, a 21.8, 49.6, 48.4, 47.9 and 21.7% reduction was recorded in plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf width and relative growth rate (RGR), respectively under WS condition. Similarly, a significant reduction was found in shoot biomass, root biomass, biological yield, number of pods per plant and seed yield under WS condition. These traits showed an average reduction of 52.2, 72.5, 54.0, 51.9 and 52.8%, respectively compared to WW condition. The highest yield reduction was recorded from wollega under WS condition, while the lowest was from abasena. Wollega variety produced the highest seed yield (kg/ha) under WW condition, while gondar-1 and humera-1 had the highest yield in kg/ha under WS condition. Under both water levels, abasena produced the lowest yield (kg/ha). Moreover, gondar-1 and humera-1 varieties had a comparatively higher values of stress tolerance index (STI), yield stress score index (YSSI), yield potential score index (YPSI), geometric mean productivity (GMP) and mean productivity (MP) that are significantly and positively correlated with yield under WS, indicating higher yield performance under water stress. The biplot analysis clustered the varieties as low yielding (abasena) and relatively above average performing varieties (humera-1, gondar-1 and wollega). According to the rank sum of all indices, humera-1 was identified as drought tolerant, while abasena as the most susceptible and low yielding varieties. Thus, humera-1 followed by gondar-1 were found to be drought tolerant and high yielding varieties. However, further studies focusing on drought tolerance mechanisms of the varieties are recommended.

Influence of sesame cake on physicochemical, antioxidant and sensorial characteristics of fortified wheat breads.

Incorporation of two sesame cake preparations, differing in fat, 11 % (LF) and 17 % (HF), and protein, 51 % (LF) and 44 % (HF), contents, respectively, into breads at 6, 12 and 20 % wheat flour substitution levels, led to enriched end-products with antioxidants, suitable also to carry the 'high protein' and 'fiber source' nutrition claims (at ≥ 12 % substitution level). Sesame cake decreased wheat dough resistance to mixing and extension, and peak viscosity (empirical rheology), in a concentration-dependent manner, being more pronounced for LF formulations. Breads with LF incorporation ≥ 12 % had lower specific volumes and harder crumb (texture analysis) throughout storage, than control (100 % wheat flour); however, such adverse effects were diminished in HF bread formulations due to the plasticizing and emulsifying action of the sesame cake fat. Calorimetry showed that the sesame cake had no effect on starch retrogradation, but enhanced amylose-lipid complex formation. Antioxidant activity (ABTS, DPPH and FRAP assays), and phenolic acids (ferulic, p-coumaric and sinapic) and lignan (sesaminol glucosides and sesamolin) contents, determined by HPLC-DAD-MS, were higher in LF breads than their HF counterparts. The presence of some sulfur (off-flavor) and pyrazine (nutty flavor) compounds (SPME-GC-MS), as well as the sesame flavor and bitterness (sensory analysis) were of higher intensity in HF breads, while the 6 % LF product received the highest overall acceptability score among all fortified products. Overall, the sesame cake can be a promising ingredient for production of functional wheat bread depending on its composition and fortification level.

Investigating the effect of sesame meal replacement for soybean meal in diets with different levels of calcium and phytase enzyme in broiler chickens.

BACKGROUND: As a major part of the cost of broiler farms is related to their feed, breeders are looking for diets at a reasonable price. One of these affordable ingredients is sesame meal (SM), which can be used to replace soybean meal (SBM) in diets. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the effect of replacing SBM with SM in diets with different levels of calcium (Ca) and phytase (Phy) during the grower (11-24 days), finisher (25-42 days) and whole phases (11-42 days) on the growth performance, carcass characteristics and blood serum parameters of broiler chickens. METHODS: A total of 600 1-day-old Ross 308 broiler male chicks were randomly dispensed to 12 dietary treatments with five replicates (10 birds per replicate) based on a completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement of 3 × 2 × 2 with 3 levels of SM (0%, 10% and 20%), 2 levels of Ca (standard (0.87% and 0.79% for grower and finisher phases, respectively) and 0.2% higher than the standard amount) and 2 levels of Phy (0 and 700 FTU/kg diet). RESULTS: During the study, the significant effects of SM, Ca and Phy on the daily average body weight gain (DAWG) and daily feed intake (DFI) were observed, whereas for the feed conversion ratio, only the effect of SM was significant (p < 0.05). During the finisher and whole phases, the SM and Ca levels influenced the DAWG and DFI, whereas the interaction between Phy and Ca was also significant for DAWG (p < 0.05). The main effects of SM and Ca on the relative weights of breast, heart and liver were significant (p < 0.05). Application of 20% of SM significantly reduced serum Ca concentration (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Generally, the inclusion of more than 10% of SM in the broilers diet is not recommended. In addition, the use of Phy and Ca levels 0.2% higher than standard in broilers diet could improve the birds' performance.

Full-length transcriptome and RNA-Seq analyses reveal the resistance mechanism of sesame in response to Corynespora cassiicola.

BACKGROUND: Corynespora leaf spot is a common leaf disease occurring in sesame, and the disease causes leaf yellowing and even shedding, which affects the growth quality of sesame. At present, the mechanism of sesame resistance to this disease is still unclear. Understanding the resistance mechanism of sesame to Corynespora leaf spot is highly important for the control of infection. In this study, the leaves of the sesame resistant variety (R) and the sesame susceptible variety (S) were collected at 0-48 hpi for transcriptome sequencing, and used a combined third-generation long-read and next-generation short-read technology approach to identify some key genes and main pathways related to resistance. RESULTS: The gene expression levels of the two sesame varieties were significantly different at 0, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hpi, indicating that the up-regulation of differentially expressed genes in the R might enhanced the resistance. Moreover, combined with the phenotypic observations of sesame leaves inoculated at different time points, we found that 12 hpi was the key time point leading to the resistance difference between the two sesame varieties at the molecular level. The WGCNA identified two modules significantly associated with disease resistance, and screened out 10 key genes that were highly expressed in R but low expressed in S, which belonged to transcription factors (WRKY, AP2/ERF-ERF, and NAC types) and protein kinases (RLK-Pelle_DLSV, RLK-Pelle_SD-2b, and RLK-Pelle_WAK types). These genes could be the key response factors in the response of sesame to infection by Corynespora cassiicola. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that specific modules could be enriched, which manifested as enrichment in biologically important pathways, such as plant signalling hormone transduction, plant-pathogen interaction, carbon metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, MAPK and other stress-related pathways. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an important resource of genes contributing to disease resistance and will deepen our understanding of the regulation of disease resistance, paving the way for further molecular breeding of sesame.

Sesame seed allergy.

ABSTRACT: In the US, sesame was recognized as the ninth major food allergen in 2021, underscoring the importance of updated allergen labeling to facilitate effective prevention plans and anaphylaxis response. This article discusses the prevalence of sesame seed allergy among children in the US and outlines strategies for nurses to understand the assessment, treatment, and education of patients regarding this allergen.

Metabolomic analysis of black sesame seeds: Effects of processing and active compounds in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Black sesame seeds (BSS) have been recognized as a functional food due to their nutritional and therapeutic value for many years. In China, BSS is traditionally processed and consumed through two methods, namely, nine steaming nine sun-drying and stir-frying. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of these processing techniques on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of BSS. UPLC-QTOF/MS was used for untargeted metabolomics to analyze the composition changes. The results indicated that the different samples had good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, but thermal treatment reduced their activities. Untargeted metabolomics identified a total of 196 metabolites. Molecular docking studies targeting proteins associated with inflammation (iNOS) demonstrated that compounds acting as inhibitors were significantly reduced under both treatments. These results indicate that both nine steaming nine sun-drying and stir-frying lead to substantial loss of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and bioactive metabolites in BSS, which provides an important reference for its rational utilization.

Antibacterial Effect of Sesame Protein-Derived Peptides against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus: In Silico and In Vitro Analysis.

This study aimed to screen out antibacterial peptides derived from sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) through in silico and in vitro methods. In silico proteolysis of sesame proteins with pepsin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin was performed with the online server BIOPEP-UWM. The CAMPR3 online server was used to predict the antimicrobial effect of peptides. The ToxinPred, PepCalc, and AllergenFP tools were utilized to forecast the physicochemical properties, toxicity, and allergen of the peptides. Molecular docking analysis showed that six cationic antimicrobial peptides could directly interact with the key sites of dihydropteroate synthase, whereas Ala-Gly-Gly-Val-Pro-Arg and Ser-Thr-Ile-Arg exhibited the strongest binding affinity. In vitro antibacterial experiment showed the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Ser-Thr-Ile-Arg against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was 1024 and 512 µg/mL, respectively. Meanwhile, MIC of Ala-Gly-Gly-Val-Pro-Arg against both bacterial species was 512 µg/mL. Our results suggest that peptides from sesame possess the ability to potentially hinder bacterial activity.