Sesame - Nutrition Information

The USDA database [1] is used in the US to derive nutritional information that is used to determine labeling for food and represents the average of all of the samples tested. The database changes as more samples are tested. The database contains the number of samples that have been averaged and the standard deviations. There is a second major database from the USDA and is titled the Phytochemical database [2]. The range in the table below is drawn from the phytochemical database and other sesame references.

Sesame is one of the few crops where there has been a limited amount of plant breeding leading to the germplasm from one part of the world dominating across the whole world. As a result the composition of varieties and cultivars varies considerably giving a very wide range on some components. Within a variety or cultivar there is less variability. However, the environment can have an effect on some components, e.g., as fertility increases, protein content increases and oil content decreases.

"Whole seed" is the entire seed which is different from dehulled seed (also referred to as decorticated seed). In the USDA database there are values for decorticated seed, oil, flour, and roasted sesame.
The following tables are based on analyzing 100 grams of whole seed.

OVERALL COMPOSITION


ASH COMPOSITION


VITAMIN COMPOSITION


LIPID COMPOSITION


AMINO ACID COMPOSITION


OTHER COMPOSITION


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[1] Data specifically from United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2003, National Nutrient Database: Sesame, sesame seed, whole, dried, http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/measure.pl?12023xyz1200xyzSeeds%2c%20sesame%20seeds%2c% 20whole%2c%20driedxyzSesamum%20indicum, accessed Apr 15, 2006.

[2] http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/farmacy2.pl?928, accessed Dec 29, 2004.
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Ref : http://www.sesamegrowers.org