Recent status of sesaminol and its glucosides: Synthesis, metabolism, and biological activities

Abstract

Sesamum indicum is a major and important oilseed crop that is believed to promote human health in many countries, especially in China. Sesame seeds contain two types of lignans: lipid-soluble lignans and water-soluble glucosylated lignans. The major glucosylated lignans are sesaminol glucosides (SGs). So far, four sesaminol isomers and four SGs are identified. During the naturally occurring process of SGs production, sesaminol is generated first from two molecules of E-coniferyl alcohol, and then the sugar is added to the sesaminol one by one, leading to production of SGs. Sesaminol can be prepared from SGs, from sesamolin, and through artificial synthesis. SGs are metabolized in the liver and intestine and are then transported to other tissues. They exhibit several biological activities, most of which are based on their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In this paper, we present an overview of the current status of research on sesaminol and SGs. We have also discussed their synthesis, preparation, metabolism, and biological activities. It has been suggested that sesaminol and SGs are important biological substances with strong antioxidant properties in vitro and in vivo and are widely used in the food industry, medicine, and cosmetic products. The recovery and utilization of SGs from sesame seed cake after oil processing will generate massive economic benefits.

Graphical Abtsract

Keywords:

• biological activities
• metabolism
• sesaminol
• sesaminol glucosides
• structure
• synthesis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Guiding Project of Science and Technology Research Program of Hubei Provincial Department of Education under Grant number B2020048; the Collaborative Grant-in-Aid of the HBUT National “111” Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics under Grant number XBTK-2021006; the Open Project Funding of the Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education) under Grant number 202105FE02; and the Hubei University of Technology under Grant numbers BSQD2020038.