Oleum Sesami. Sesame Oil. official.

Sesauium indicum, LinnE, one or more cultivated varieties.

A fixed oil obtained from the seeds.

Habitat. India (Africa, Egypt, Cyprus, Sicily, Turkey, Persia, China, Formosa, Java); cultivated in N. and S. America, S. United States, W. Indies.

Syn. Oily Grain, Oil Plant, Til Seed, Teel; 01. Sesam., Teel Oil, Benne Oil, Oil of Sesame, Gingili Oil; Fr. Huile de Sesame; Ger. Sesamol.

Ses'a-mum. L. - Gr.

fr. Egypt, sempsen - i. e., the original plant name.

In'di-cum. L. indicus, Gr. there.

pertaining to India - i. e., flourishes natively

Plant. - Annual herb; stem 1-1.3 M. (3-4°) high, branched, quadrangular, striate, somewhat hairy; leaves lanceolate-ovate, lower ones 3-lobed, upper undivided, serrate, slightly pubescent, prominent veins beneath, petiolate; flowers tubular, campanulate, 4 Cm. (1 3/5) long, pale purple; fruit capsule, 2.5-5 Cm. (1-2') long, oblong, quadrangular, falsely, 4-celled, pericarp leathery, olive-green, interior yellowish, hairy, dehiscent; seeds 5 Mm. (1/5') long, oblong, triangular, rounded, flattened, testa thick, smooth, variegated color, mostly yellowish.

Constituents. - Fixed oil 47-56 p. c, proteids 22 p. c, mucilage 4 p. c, ash 4.8 p. c.

Oleum Sesami. Sesame Oil. - This fixed oil from the seeds is a pale yellow, oily liquid, almost odorless, bland taste, slightly acid, slightly soluble in alcohol, miscible with ether, chloroform, petroleum benzin, carbon disulphide, sp. gr. 0.918; contains triglycerides of oleic (chiefly) and linoleic acids 75 p. c, also myristin, palmitin, stearin 20-25 p. c, sesamin, C11H12O3, crystalline needles, .2-.5 p. c, chloroform solution with sulphuric acid yielding cherry-red or blue acid layer. Tests: 1. Shake for half a minute 1 Ml. (Cc.) with a solution of .1 Gm. of sugar in 10 Ml. (Cc.) of hydrochloric acid - acid layer bright red, changing to dark red on standing. 2. Mix 5 Ml. (Cc.) with 5 Ml. (Cc.) of a mixture of equal vols, of amyl alcohol and a 1 p. c. solution of sulphur in carbon disulphide, immerse test-tube to one-third depth in boiling saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride - no reddish color in 15 minutes (abs. of cottonseed oil). Should be kept in well-closed containers. Dose, 5ss-2 (15-60 Ml. (Cc.)).

Commercial. - Plant cultivated early in Asia, Africa by Persians, Arabs, Egyptians, and from this latter country supposed to have reached the United States in African slave traffic. Seeds are used natively as food (parched) in broths, puddings, bread, etc. Oil usually extracted by expression, but can be by decoction and solution. Preparation. - 1. Linimentum Ammonias, 75 p. c. Unoff. Preps.: Olea Infusa, 80 p. c. Properties. - Laxative, demulcent, emollient, nutritious. Uses. - Similar to olive oil, but less agreeable and digestible; mostly externally in hair preparations, as a substitute for olive oil; internally in emulsion. Leaves, official 1830-1880; abound in mucilage (gum), extracted by soaking in cold water and forming a bland demulcent drink in diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera infantum, acute cystitis, strangury, etc. Seeds often used by Southern negroes, as by natives, being

Fig. 370. - Sesamum indicum: a, flowering branch; b, section of seed enlarged.

beaten up for food or poultice, or made into infusion as abortive, emmenagogue.

Allied Products:

1. Ground-Nut Oil, Pea-Nut Oil (Ar'Achis Hypogoe'A)

Ground-Nut Oil, Pea-Nut Oil (Ar'Achis Hypogoe'A). Tropical

America; seeds contain fixed oil 45 p. c; used instead of sesame and olive oil. 2. Soy Oil (Glyci'ne (So'ja) kis'pida), Japan; seeds reniform, used as food and for making a sauce (soy); contain bland fixed oil

15-20 p. c. 2. Ben Oil, Behen Oil (Morin'ga ap'tera, M. pterygosper'ma),

E. India; seeds called ben-nuts, have elongated, membranous wings; yield fixed oil 30 p. c; used as purgative and in extracting perfume from flowers.