Microwave Heating Affects Composition and Oxidative Stability of Sesame (Sesamum indicum) Oil

The effects of microwave heating on antioxidative components and lipid quality of sesame seeds were studied. Amounts of antioxidative components were 576, 18, and 8 mg/kg oil for γ-, δ-, and α-tocopherols; 6,824, 5,642, and 54 mg/kg oil for sesamin, sesamolin, and sesamol, respectively. During microwave treatments, concentrations of tocopherols, sesamin and sesamolin gradually decreased, and ca. 20% of these dominant components was lost after 30 min heating. However, microwave treatments for 16 to 20 min, which would be optimal to prepare sesame oil with better quality, still retained over 85% of the antioxidative components (with few exceptions) and caused no significant chemical changes in lipids.