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English Name:
Sesame Seeds
Botanical name:
Sesamum indicum L
Arabic Name:جلجلان,
سمسم
Farsi Name:
کنجد
Urdu Name:
تل,
کنجد
Uses:
There are three varieties of sesame seeds; black, white and red. The black
variety yields the best quality of oil and is also best suited for medicinal
purposes. The white seeds are extremely rich in calcium and are useful in all
cases of calcium deficiency. The red variety is exceptionally rich in iron. The
seeds are emollient that softens the skin, nourishing tonic, emmenagogue that
stimulates menstruation, demulcent or soothing, laxative, diuretic and
fattening.The oil extracted from sesame seeds is of very high medicinal quality.
Charak, the great medical authority of ancient India, has said that of all the
oils, the gingelly or sesame-oil is the best. It has the finest flavor and a
high boiling point. This latter quality is important from the health point of
view, for it indicates that less molecular restructuring takes place in sesame
oil than any other seed oil.
MEDICINAL USES OF SESAME SEEDS:
Piles:
Sesame seeds are highly beneficial in the
treatment of piles. They can be taken in the form of decoction or as sweet
meats. Ground to paste with water, they are given with butter for bleeding
piles.
Skin Disorders:
A poultice of the sesame seeds can be applied externally with beneficial results
over ulcers, burns and scalds. External application of a mixture of equal parts
of sesame oil and lime water is also effective in these conditions. The oil is
also used as a substitute for olive oil in aceutical preparations for external
uses.
Anemia:
Black sesame seeds, as a rich source of iron, are valuable in anemia. An
emulsion of the seeds is prepared by grinding and straining them after soaking
them in warm water for a couple of hours. This emulsion, mixed with a cupful of
milk and sweetened with jaggery, should be given to patients suffering from
anemia.
Dysentery and Diarrhoea:
Sesame seeds are useful in dysentery and diarrhoea. Two tablespoonfuls of the
seeds should be lightly roasted on a frying pan. They should then be ground into
fine powder and mixed with one tablespoon of cow's ghee. The m*** should be
divided into three parts. Each part should be used with boiled goat's milk
thrice daily for six days by the patients suffering from chronic dysentery or
diarrhoea. It acts as an excellent medicine in these conditions.
Abortion:
Sesame seeds are traditionally used as a
medicine for causing abortion. One tablespoonful of the seeds should be ground
with equal quantity of palm jaggery
and used twice daily in the early stage of pregnancy for this purpose. It
excites the uterine contractions and thus expells the fertilized ovum.
Respiratory Disorders:
The seeds are valuable in respiratory disorders. An infusion of sesame seeds,
mixed with a tablespoonful of linseed, a pinch of common salt and a
desertspoonful of honey, should be given once at night with beneficial results,
in acute and chronic bronchitis, pneumonia and asthma. It acts as an
expectorant.
Menstrual Disorders:
Half a teaspoon of powder of sesame seeds taken with hot water twice daily acts
excellently in reducing spasmodic pain during menstruation in young unmarried
anemic girls. Its regular use, two days prior to the expected periods, cures
scanty menstruation. Warm hip bath containing a handful of bruised sesame seeds
should be simultaneously taken along with this recipe.
Hair Disorders:
Crushed leaves of sesame are considered beneficial in the treatment of dandruff.
A decoction made from the leaves and root is used as a hair wash.
It is said to prevent premature greying of hair and promote their growth.
GENERAL USES OF SESAME SEEDS:
Sesame is grown for its edible seeds which are the source of gingelly oil. This
oil is used as a substitute for olive oil as a salad dressing and in cooking.
The fried seeds are eaten in soups and, mixed with sugar, are a popular
sweetmeat in Africa and Asia.
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