A systematic review on antioxidant and antiinflammatory activity of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) oil and further confirmation of antiinflammatory activity by chemical profiling and molecular docking

Traditionally, sesame oil (SO) has been used as a popular food and medicine. The review aims to summarize the antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects of SO and its identified compounds as well as further fatty acid profiling and molecular docking study to correlate the interaction of its identified constituents with cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). For this, a literature study was made using Google Scholar, Pubmed, and SciFinder databases. Literature study demonstrated that SO has potential antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects in various test systems, including humans, animals, and cultured cells through various pathways such as inhibition of COX, nonenzymatic defense mechanism, inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines, NF-kB or mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, and prostaglandin synthesis pathway. Fatty acid analysis of SO using gas chromatography identified known nine fatty acids. In silico study revealed that sesamin, sesaminol, sesamolin, stigmasterol, Δ5-avenasterol, and Δ7-avenasterol (−9.6 to −10.7 kcal/mol) were the most efficient ligand for interaction and binding with COX-2. The known fatty acid also showed binding efficiency with COX-2 to some extent (−6.0 to −8.4 kcal/mol). In summary, it is evident that SO may be one of promising traditional medicines that we could use in the prevention and management of diseases associated with oxidative stress and inflammation.