Scientific name: Sesamum indicum
Family: Pedaliaceae
Type: white panicle

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. It was a highly prized oil crop of Babylon and Assyria at least 4,000 years ago. Today, India and China are the world's largest producers of sesame, followed by Burma, Sudan, Mexico, Nigeria, Venezuela and Paraguay. World production in 1985 was 2.53 million tons on 16.3 million acres.

Sesame seeds (approximately 50% oil and 25% protein) are used in baking, candy making, and other food industries. Oil from the seed is used in cooking and salad oils and margarine, and contains about 47% oleic and 39% linoleic acid. Sesame oil and foods fried in sesame oil have a long shelf life because the oil contains an antioxidant called sesamol. The oil can be used in the manufacture of soaps, paints, perfumes, pharmaceuticals and insecticides. Sesame meal, left after the oil is pressed from the seed, is an excellent high-protein (34 to 50%) feed for poultry and livestock.