Sesamum indicum

Navigation
Read community contributed articles on biodiversity & environment || Cultural practices & mythological stories related to Indian biodiversity || Official documents related to environment || NGOs, Blogs and Websites || Environment-related video collection || Plants of India || Mammals of India || Facebook || Twitter

Share this page: Sesamum indicum

Tweet

Sesame Plant
Species name: Sesamum indicum

Click here to see all Semantic Properties associated with this page

Please note that the above slideshow is automatically created by searching Flickr and does not contain manually curated images. Hence, it is likely that some images may not be exactly of Sesamum indicum.


Click on the tabs below to know more...

• Species identity and nomenclature
• Current Wikipedia entry
• Binomial Classification
• Morphological features
• Habitat and Geographical Spread
• Maps
• Medicinal Importance
• Cultural significance
• Commercial importance and cultivation
• Summary of PubMed articles
• Summary of NCBI molecular data
• External Links
• Images and Videos

Parameter	Value(s)	References See complete references in the References section at the end
Names of users who have contributed to this species page	Supriyak, shwetankverma
Date on which this page was first created	2010/10/30
This page was last modified on:	6 December 2010 13:27:06
Name of the species	Sesamum indicum
ID on Encyclopedia of Life	484896
Synonyms	Please check Binomial Classification section for synonyms.
Common English Names	Sesame
Common Hindi Names	Gingli, Til
Common Indian names	Juljulan,Simsim,Sumsum,Zelzlane (Arabic) ; Tisi (Assamese) ; Til (Bengali) (Urdu) ; Mittho-tel,Tal (Gujrathi) ; Ellu,Tila (Kannada) ; Chitelu, Ellu (Malayalam) ; Bariktil,Ashadital,Til (Marathi), Ellu (Tamil) ; Nuvvulu, Tillu (Telugu) ;	EOL
Origins/Meanings of the common names

Taxonomy from Encyclopedia of Life

If nothing is displayed in this section, it means the EoL ID has not been defined. Please click on Edit with form button on top and follow the instructions for filling in the EoL ID

{{#EoLOnlyHierarchy:484896}} 

Taxonomy filled in form

Angiosperm phylogeny. This image is copyrighted. Rights owned by Theodore C.H.Cole (Heidelberg) and Hartmut H. Hilger (Berlin) 2010. Please obtain copyright permissions before reuse.
Click here for the PDF of the phylogeny

Taxon	Value
Regnum (Kingdom)	Plantae
Division	Magnoliophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida
Order	Scrophulariales
Family	Pedaliaceae
Genus	Sesamum
Source of data	EOL

Other closely related species

Species Division Common name Common Hindi name Aloe vera Aloe vera, Medicinal aloe, Burn plant Gheekumari घीकुमारी Acacia nilotica Arabic Gum, Black Piquant, Egyptian thorn, Prickly acacia बबूल Babool,कीकर Kikar Saraca indica Ashoka अशोक Ashok … further results

Division	Taxon details	Taxon morphology details
Magnoliophyta	Also called Angiospermae. The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from gymnosperms around 245–202 million years ago, and the first flowering plants known to exist are from 140 million years ago. They diversified enormously during the Lower Cretaceous and became widespread around 100 million years ago, but replaced conifers as the dominant trees only around 60-100 million years ago.	These are seed plants like Gymnosperms, but can be differentiated by the presence of flowers, seeds containing endosperm and seeds that produce a fruit. Angiosperms are the most diverse and highly evolutionarily successful group of land plants.

Species Class Common name Common Hindi name Acacia nilotica Magnoliopsida Arabic Gum, Black Piquant, Egyptian thorn, Prickly acacia बबूल Babool,कीकर Kikar Saraca indica Magnoliopsida Ashoka अशोक Ashok Adansonia digitata Magnoliopsida Baobab Gorakh imli गोरख इमली … further results

Class	Taxon details	Taxon morphology details
Magnoliopsida	Magnoliopsida is the scientific name for dicots. This class contains about ~1,99,350 species of Angiosperms. Eudicots are a subset of Dicots. Based on chloroplast DNA sequences, the divergence date between monocots and dicots is estimated to be ~200 million years, with a 40 million years uncertainty.	Dicots are diverse in habit, with half of all the species being more or less woody-stemmed - a reflection of the usual presence of a vascular cambium in the class. Annuals, biennials, vines, epiphytes, aquatics, parasites, and saprotrophs are also well represented in dicots. Vascular bundles of the stem are usually borne in a ring that encloses the pith. Vessel elements present except in some putatively primitive woody or aquatic families. Most dicots have a primary root system derived from the radicle, although some have an adventitious root system commonly seen in the class of monocots. Cotyledons are usually 2, seldom 1, 3, or 4. Leaves are mostly net-veined.

Species Order Common name Common Hindi name Jasminum officinale Lamiales Common Jasmine, Poet's Jasmine, Spanish Jasmine चमेली Chameli Martynia diandra Lamiales Devil's Claws, Tiger's Claw उलट-कांटा Ulat-kanta, बाघनख Baghnakh Ocimum tenuiflorum Lamiales Holy Basil, Indian Basil तुलसी Tulsi … further results

Order	Taxon details	Taxon morphology details
Lamiales	Species in this order probably arose ~70-100 million years ago based on various estimates. Lamiales contain ~12% of eudicot diversity. Well-known or economically important members of this order include lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, the ash tree, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, and a number of table herbs such as mint, basil, and rosemary.	Members of this species are herbaceous or shrubby, have mono-symmetric flowers and numerous small seeds. Species in this order typically have the following characteristics, although there are exceptions to all of them - 1) superior ovary composed of two fused carpels 2) five petals fused into a tube 3) bilaterally symmetrical, often bilabiate corollas and 4) four (or fewer) fertile stamens

Species Family Common name Common Hindi name Martynia diandra Pedaliaceae Devil's Claws, Tiger's Claw उलट-कांटा Ulat-kanta, बाघनख Baghnakh Sesamum indicum Pedaliaceae Sesame Gingli, Til

Species Genus Common name Common Hindi name Sesamum indicum Sesamum Sesame Gingli, Til

Based on classification

More details can be found in the Binomial Classification section.

Morphology from Encyclopedia of Life

If nothing is displayed in this section, it means the EoL ID has not been defined. Please click on Edit with form button on top and follow the instructions for filling in the EoL ID

{{#EoLOnlyDescription:484896}} 

General morphology

Parameter	Value(s)	References See complete references in the References section at the end
General morphological features of the plant	Sesamum is an erect and annual herb. The plant is simple or branched. Stems of early cultivors are unbranched, late maturing cultivors show pronounced branching, stems square, longitudinally furrowed, green, occasionally purple. The leaves are opposite below and alternate above. Leaves at the top are lanceolate where as the leaves below are ovate, toothed or lobed with varying shapes. Leaves hairy on both sides, margins ciliate, exstipulate, ovate, sometimes palmately lobed or palmately compound; petiole about 5 cm long, lamina 8-15 x 6-10 cm, coarsely serrate. Upper leaves alternate or sub-opposite, lanceolate, entire or with 1-few coarse teeth, petiole 1-2 cm long; lamina 5-13 x 1-3 cm. The flowers are borne in the leaf axils in two’s or three’s and often solitary and are variously coloured starting from pure white to purple or to deep violet ."Sesamum is an erect and annual herb. The plant is simple or branched. Stems of early cultivors are unbranched, late maturing cultivors show pronounced branching, stems square, longitudinally furrowed, green, occasionally purple. The leaves are opposite below and alternate above. Leaves at the top are lanceolate where as the leaves below are ovate, toothed or lobed with varying shapes. Leaves hairy on both sides, margins ciliate, exstipulate, ovate, sometimes palmately lobed or palmately compound; petiole about 5 cm long, lamina 8-15 x 6-10 cm, coarsely serrate. Upper leaves alternate or sub-opposite, lanceolate, entire or with 1-few coarse teeth, petiole 1-2 cm long; lamina 5-13 x 1-3 cm. The flowers are borne in the leaf axils in two’s or three’s and often solitary and are variously coloured starting from pure white to purple or to deep violet ." cannot be used as a page name in this wiki.	Sasya Sampada

Seed dispersal mechanism
Bloom type	Perennial
Life cycle of the plant

How to identify this species

For a detailed description, refer to the General Morphology details above

Parameter	Value(s)	References See complete references in the References section at the end
Type of plant	Herb
Plant height
Flower color	White	Wikipedia
Flower shape
Floral symmetry	Bilateral
Phyllotaxy of leaves
Leaf shape
Is the leaf petiolated or sessile?
Is the leaf simple or compound?

Parameter	Value(s)	References See complete references in the References section at the end
IUCN Conservation Status	Not Evaluated	EOL
Indian States in which the species has been documented	Assam,Andhra Pradesh,Bihar,Delhi,Goa,Gujarat,Jammu and Kashmir,Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra,Orissa,Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu,Uttar Pradesh	Plant Database of India,shwetankverma
Locations at which the species has been documented	Kurnool;Lakhimpur;Daman;nagerhaveli;Jammu;Bangalore;Mysore;Bhopal;Bilaspur;Jabalpur;Amravati;Pune;Madras;Agra;Gorakhpur	Plant Database of India
Biotic zones inhabited
Details about the habitat
Is this species native to India?	Yes	FOI
Is the species indigenous/endemic to Sub-Himalayan regions?
Is the species indigenous/endemic to Western Ghats?
Is the species indigenous/endemic to Eastern Ghats?

More plants native to India Species name Common name Common Hindi name Plant type Native plant Biotic zone Abelmoschus moschatus Okra, Abelmosk, Ambrette seeds, Annual hibiscus, Bamia Moschata, Galu Gasturi, Muskdana, Musk mallow, Musk okra, Musk seeds, Ornamental okra, Rose mallow seeds, Tropical jewel hibiscus, Yorka okra मुश्कदाना Mushkdana, कस्तूरीदाना Kasturi-dana, जंगली भिंडी Jangli bhindi Acacia concinna Soap pod शिकाकाई Shikakai Woody (Tree/Shrub) Northeastern Himalayas Eastern Ghats Western Ghats Central Deccan Plateau East Coast West Coast Indo-Gangetic Plain Acrostichum aureum Golden leatherfern, Mangrove fern Fern Northeastern Himalayas Eastern Ghats East Coast Indo-Gangetic Plain Outlying Islands Aegle marmelos Bel, Beli fruit, Bengal quince, Stone apple, Wood apple बेल Bel Allium sativum Cultivated Garlic लेह्सन Lehsan … further results

If no maps are displayed below, it means the required data is absent. Click on "Edit with form" button on top of the page to add this information.
{{#generateMap:Assam,Andhra Pradesh,Bihar,Delhi,Goa,Gujarat,Jammu and Kashmir,Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra,Orissa,Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu,Uttar Pradesh|Sesamum_indicum_brahma.svg|align=center}}

Loading map...

{"minzoom":false,"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","type":"ROADMAP","geoservice":"geonames","types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"maxzoom":false,"width":"auto","height":"350px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","visitedicon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"wmsoverlay":false,"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":false,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"markercluster":false,"tilt":0,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"fusiontables":[],"searchmarkers":"","enablefullscreen":false,"locations":[{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EKurnool\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Kurnool\n","link":"","lat":15.8281257,"lon":78.0372792,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003ELakhimpur\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Lakhimpur\n","link":"","lat":27.9490794,"lon":80.7824012,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EDaman\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Daman\n","link":"","lat":20.3973736,"lon":72.8327991,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003Enagerhaveli\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"nagerhaveli\n","link":"","lat":20.1808672,"lon":73.0169135,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EJammu\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Jammu\n","link":"","lat":32.7266016,"lon":74.8570259,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EBangalore\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Bangalore\n","link":"","lat":12.9715987,"lon":77.5945627,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EMysore\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Mysore\n","link":"","lat":12.2958104,"lon":76.6393805,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EBhopal\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Bhopal\n","link":"","lat":23.2599333,"lon":77.412615,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EBilaspur\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Bilaspur\n","link":"","lat":22.0796251,"lon":82.1391412,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EJabalpur\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Jabalpur\n","link":"","lat":23.181467,"lon":79.9864071,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EAmravati\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Amravati\n","link":"","lat":20.9374238,"lon":77.7795513,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EPune\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Pune\n","link":"","lat":18.5204303,"lon":73.8567437,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EMadras\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Madras\n","link":"","lat":13.0826802,"lon":80.2707184,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EAgra\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Agra\n","link":"","lat":27.1766701,"lon":78.0080745,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003EGorakhpur\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Gorakhpur\n","link":"","lat":29.4438165,"lon":75.6702647,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""}]}

Parameter	Value(s)	References See complete references in the References section at the end
Does this species have any medicinal use?	Yes

Other plants of the same family having medicinal use: Species name Common name Common Hindi name Family Ailment type Medicinal use description Sesamum indicum Sesame Gingli, Til Pedaliaceae Infectious diseases Pains and Inflammation Systemic disorders Traditional Indian massage oil, dry flowers are used in for treating alopecia, frostbite and constipation, treatment of verruca vulgaris (Common Wart) and verruca plana (clusters of warts, which are usually found on the soles of the foot, and around the toes), cholesterol-lowering effect has been reported humans

Parameter	Value(s)	References See complete references in the References section at the end
General types of ailments this species is used for treating	Infectious diseases, Pains and Inflammation, Systemic disorders
Specific ailments for which the species is used	antibacterial agent in mouthwash, sedative, anxiety and insomnia, high blood pressure, Vitamin deficiency, antifungal activity, hypolipidaemic, Hypoglycemic effects	Journal of Herbal Medicine and Toxicology
Medicinal systems which use this plant	Ayurveda, Folk Medicine	shwetankverma
Details of Medicinal use	Traditional Indian massage oil, dry flowers are used in for treating alopecia, frostbite and constipation, treatment of verruca vulgaris (Common Wart) and verruca plana (clusters of warts, which are usually found on the soles of the foot, and around the toes), cholesterol-lowering effect has been reported humans
Parts of the plant used for treatment	Flower, Seeds, Other	shwetankverma
Names of some medicinal active compounds in this plant, if known.	sesamin, sesamolin, sesamol and sesaminol(phenolic antioxidants), chlorosesamone (2-chloro- 5, 8-dihydroxy-3-3methyl-2-butenyl)-1, 4- naphthoquinone), sesamolinol diglucoside, Anthrasesamones A, B and C	Journal of Herbal Medicine and Toxicology
Details of the active chemical compounds found in this plant
Is the molecular basis of the medicinal action known?	Yes
Details of molecular basis of action	>sesamol and sesaminol -- (phenolic antioxidants), >chlorosesamone (2-chloro- 5, 8-dihydroxy-3-3methyl-2-butenyl)-1, 4- naphthoquinone) -- (chlorinated red naphthoquinone pigment with antifungal activity)	Journal of Herbal Medicine and Toxicology
Are the toxic effects of consumption of this plant known?
Details of the toxic effects of the plant species
Have there been validation/clinical studies related to this plant?	Yes
Details of the clinical studies related to the plant species

Parameter	Value(s)	References See complete references in the References section at the end
Is this plant/plant-derived product used in food preparations?	Yes	User-reported
Part(s) of the plant used in the food preparations	Seeds
Details of use in food preparations	Used in many parts of Indian Subcontinent as cooking oil.
Does this species have any religious significance?	Yes	User-reported
Religions which mention/give significance to this species	Hinduism
Religious occasions
Details of religious use

Parameter	Value(s)	References See complete references in the References section at the end
Is this plant cultivated commercially in India?	Yes
Uses for which the plant is commercially cultivated	Human consumption, Medicinal use, Cosmetic use, Religious use, Industrial use
Plant parts of commercial value	Root, Leaves, Flower, Seeds	shwetankverma
Products where this plant is used		User-reported
Description of use
States where this plant is cultivated commercially	Bihar, Punjab	shwetankverma
Best period for planting this plant
Best period for harvesting this plant
Method of propagation
Water requirement of this plant
Pests and Diseases affecting this plant during cultivation	Sesame is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the Turnip Moth.	Wikipedia
Other considerations while cultivating this plant

Loading map...

{"minzoom":false,"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","type":"ROADMAP","geoservice":"google","types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"maxzoom":false,"width":"auto","height":"350px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","visitedicon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"wmsoverlay":false,"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":14,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"markercluster":false,"tilt":0,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"fusiontables":[],"searchmarkers":"","enablefullscreen":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":30.1157783,"lon":76.5589379,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""}]}

Pubmed Word cloud

This word cloud is obtained using the tool LigerCat by searching the Pubmed database. LigerCat builds the cloud from the most relevant Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms. Each term's relative size indicates how many times it appears in the PubMed search results. Click on a term to access the full LigerCat cloud, with live PubMed search capabilities. LigerCat has been developed for the Biology of Aging Project.

The page may take some time to load since LigerCat is searching the entire PubMed database and sending us the results in real time.

• If there is an error message below, it means that there is no retrievable information available on NCBI
  
• If the number of nucleotide sequences is less than 100, very little genomic work has been done on this species. A respectable number of nucleotide sequences is above 10000.
• Most of the nucleotide sequences may come from three sources:

1. Studies on single genes, where people try to sequence genes such as some specific dehydrogenases important,say, for tannin production
2. Sequences of Ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer, whose sequence is used for generating molecular phylogenetic trees to establish species relationships
3. Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) which can tell about which genes are present and expressed in the species at a particular time in the given tissue

{{#queryDB:taxonomy |Sesamum indicum }}

Parameter	Value(s)	References See complete references in the References section at the end
Details of modern scientific knowledge available for this species
Are herbarium specimen available for this species?	Yes
Institutes having herbarium samples	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK)	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK)

Loading map...

{"minzoom":false,"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","type":"ROADMAP","geoservice":"google","types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"maxzoom":false,"width":"auto","height":"350px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","visitedicon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"wmsoverlay":false,"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":14,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"markercluster":false,"tilt":0,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"fusiontables":[],"searchmarkers":"","enablefullscreen":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":51.4787438,"lon":-0.295573,"alt":0,"address":"","icon":"","group":"","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":""}]}

If nothing is displayed in this section, it means the EoL ID has not been defined. Please click on Edit with form button on top and follow the instructions for filling in the EoL ID

{{#EoLOnlyAdditionalInfo:484896}} 

Click here to go to Google Images

Flowers of Sesame

Sesame seeds

Sesame oil

References

{{{refkeyword}}} (Journal) : S. Hemalathaa, M. Raghunatha and Ghafoorunissa (2004),Dietary sesame (Sesamum indicum cultivar Linn) oil inhibits iron-induced oxidative stress in rats, British Journal of Nutrition:92({{{issue}}}):581. doi=10.1079/BJN20041239

{{{refkeyword}}} (Journal) : EA Ashamu, EO Salawu, OO Oyewo, AW Alhassan, OA Alamu, AA Adegoke (2010),Efficacy of vitamin C and ethanolic extract of Sesamum indicum in promoting fertility in male Wistar rats, J Hum Reprod Sci:3({{{issue}}}):11. doi=10.4103/0974-1208.63115

{{{refkeyword}}} (Journal) : Hua Xu, Yong-ping Wen, Wen Zhao and Qing He (October 2010),In Vitro Antitumour Activity of Sesamum indicum Linn Flower Extracts, Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research:9(5):455. doi={{{doi}}}

EOL (Web): Nomenclature,Classification, Accessdate=2010-October-30-10-10

Sasya sampada (Web): Morphology, Accessdate=2010-October-30-10-10

Plant Database of India (Web): Geographical Spread, Accessdate=2010-October-30-10-10

Wikipedia (Web): Pests, Accessdate=2010-October-30-10-10