A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON PHYTO-PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF SESAMUM INDICUM LINN.

Sesamum indicum seeds have been used as a medicine since antiquity. Various parts of the plant have been used by traditional physicians. However the dried seed and oil are commonly used as Till in Unani Medicine. It (Sesamum indicum) is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world, mainly grown for extraction of oil from seeds. Sesame belongs to the family Pedaliaceae and genus Sesamum, is a famous Indian drug used in a number of pathological conditions. The oil from sesame plant is an important ingredient in Unani remedies in India, because of the presence of bioactive components present in the seed including polyunsaturated fatty acids, phytosterols, tocopherols, vital minerals and unique class of phenylpropanoid compounds, namely lignans such as sesamin, sesamol, and sesamolin. Sesame lignans have various pharmaco-logical properties including. Antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity antiproliferative activity lowering cholesterol levels increasing hepatic fatty acid oxidation enzymes and show anti-hypertensive effects. This review is done to provide an electronic database regarding phyto-pharmacological properties of Sesamum indicum in particular with its description in Unani classical literature along with the recent research work done by many authors; so that future research work can be made at ease and it will help in revalidating scientifically the claimed activities of the drug mentioned in classical literatures and further exploration of any new therapeutic activity based on phytochemistry.