black sesame extract sesamin sesamin black sesame extract sesamum indicum l sesamin herb source sesamum indicum l. zanthoxylum acanthapodium var. villosum huang. piper longum sesamin molecular formula and molecular weight c20h18o6 351.34 sesamin melting point 122 -123 sesamin solubility sesamin freely soluble in chloroform-benzene-acetic acid and acetone. sesamin pharmacology antioxidant bactericide insecticide non-competitive d5-desaturase inhibitor. sesamin is an all-natural component stored in sesame seeds. its content is only about 0.5 percent. through extracting sesamin from sesame, and experimenting in animals and humans, the japanese scientific researchers have discovered that sesamin has effects of preventing hypertension and cardiovascular hypertrophy, protecting liver, resisting oxidation, reducing cholesterol, and anti-cancer . effect of sesamin, a sesame lignan, on the hepatic fatty acid metabolism was examined in the rat. increase of the dietary level of sesamin progressively increased the mitochondrial and peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation rate. mitochondrial activity almost doubled in rats fed a 0.5% sesamin diet. peroxisomal activity became more than 10 times higher in rats fed a 0.5% sesamin diet, compared to those fed a sesamin-free diet. dietary sesamin also markedly increased the hepatic activity and mrna levels of various fatty acid oxidation enzymes. in contrast, dietary sesamin decreased the hepatic activity and mrna abundance of lipogenic enzymes. this was associated with the down-regulation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1, a transcriptional factor that regulates the lipogenic enzyme gene expression. dietary sesamin significantly decreased the triacylglycerol secretion accompanying the increase in ketone body production by the perfused rat liver. it is apparent that sesamin affects the fatty acid metabolism and lipoprotein production in the liver, and hence lowers the serum lipid levels. we also developed several sesame lines with seeds containing sesamin and sesamolin at twice the concentration of conventional cultivars. compared to a conventional cultivar, these lignan-rich sesame seeds increased the hepatic fatty acid oxidation rate and lowered the serum triacylglycerol level in the rat. therefore, it is considered that enrichment of the lignans potentiates the characteristics of sesame in improving human health. sesamin, one of the lignans present most abundantly in sesame seed and oil (fig. 1), markedly influences the lipid metabolism in experimental animals. sesamin feeding is associated with a reduction of serum lipid levels in rodents7,8,22. this compound is also effective in preventing an increase in the serum triacylglycerol level following ethanol consumption in the rat1. the cholesterollowering effect of sesamin has also been demonstrated in humans6. however, the mechanism(s) underlying the lipid-lowering effect of sesamin remains to be clarified. the changes in the rate of fatty acid synthesis and oxidation in the liver may possibly modify serum lipid concentrations. alterations in fatty acid synthesis25 and oxidation10,11 which affect the availability of fatty acids for triacylglycerol synthesis, and in turn modify the very low density lipoprotein production by the liver, may affect the serum lipid levels. in this context, we examined the physiological activity of sesamin in relation to the hepatic fatty acid metabolism in the rat. ******************************************* if there are any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. bring nature to better life! organic herb inc. address:n0.1038shanshuirenjia3rd,kaiyuanroad,xingsha,changsha,china contact : ms.lily liu phone +86 731 4060868 mobile +86 135 1747 5149 fax +86 731 4023669 email: lily@organic-herb.com msn messenger： lily@organic-herb.com website: http://www.organic-herb.com