Sesame Seed and Its Fractions for Improving Oxidative Stress in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Controlled Clinical Trials

ABSTRACT

It is proposed that sesame products affect oxidative stress, although the findings were inconsistent. This study aimed to summarize the effect of sesame seed and its fractions on oxidative stress parameters in human adults using systematic review and meta-analysis. PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched up to April 2018 to identify relevant controlled clinical trials. Random effects model was used for calculating the overall effects. Fifteen clinical trials were eligible. Meta-analyses revealed that sesame consumption significantly increases enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase) and non-enzymatic (vitamin C, vitamin E, β-carotene, and glutathione) antioxidants (P < .05). However, no significant effect was observed on malondialdehyde (MDA) (Hedges’ g = −0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI): −1.70, 0.09; P = .078), total antioxidant capacity (WMD = 0.16, 95% CI: −0.19, 0.51; P = .365) and α-tocopherol (WMD = −0.33, 95% CI: −1.11, 0.45; P = .409) levels. It was shown that MDA levels significantly decreases only when sesame seeds were used for supplementation (Hedges’ g = −0.74, 95% CI: −1.11, −0.36, P < .001). Sesame consumption is associated with improved oxidative status. High quality randomized controlled clinical trials from diverse regions are still needed.

KEYWORDS:

• Sesame seed
• Sesame fractions
• Oxidative stress
• Systematic Review
• Meta-analysis

Acknowledgments

Authors would like to thank the research council of Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences for the financial support of the present study.

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest to report for present project.

Author contributions

ASA designed the research; FM, NRJ, and HRD performed the systematic search and study selection; FM and HRD extracted the data; ASA and NRJ analyzed the data; FM and NRJ wrote the manuscript; ASA edited the manuscript and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The current study was funded by Nutrition and Food Security research center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.