Thursday, September 22, 2011

Sesame or linga is anti-allergenic; it is also highly nutritious

Dr Abe V Rotor

There are many people who are allergic to food and most are not aware of it. In the United States alone there are some 11 million people who suffer from food allergy in one form of another.

The discovery of the anti allergenic properties of sesame offers an alternative way of reducing allergic reactions on certain recipes. The anti allergenic property of sesame lies on its chemical composition, mainly glycerides and linolic acid and other derivatives such as sesamin, as gleamed from the following report of Mitchell and Thorpe. (Useful Plants of the Philippines)

“Sesame oil consists of glycerides of oleic and linolic acid, with small quantities of the glycerides of solid fatty acids, including stearine, palmitin and myristin. The unsaponifiable matter (1 to 1.4 percent) consists of a phytosterol, sesamin, and sesamol, which reacts with furfural and hydrochloric acid.”

Whole seeds of sesame (Sesamum orientale) are utilized by bakers in making various cakes and sweetmeat. As food sesame provides the body with proteins (36 %), carbohydrates (24%), calcium (2.7%) and phosphorus (2 %). Sesame seeds yield 50 to 57 percent oil which is pale-yellow to red-brown color, called pil. Pil has a pleasant characteristic aroma that makes it a favorite food condiment.

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