Posts Tagged ‘sesame’
Traditional Uses of Sesame | South Asia and Veterinary Medicine
South Asia Medicine
It is believed that sesame is cultivated in India since 2000 BC. Currently widely used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Sesame oil has been used traditionally as a health supplement in India and Pakistan to treat various medical conditions. According to secondary sources, is considered mandatory in some parts of India a sesame oil bath followed by a self-massage at least once a week to reduce body heat and fever. In India, the crops of sesame oil is a folk remedy to prevent dental and periodontal diseases (such as tooth decay, bad breath and bleeding gums).
It is said that the soothing properties of sesame oil relieves dryness or irritation of the throat, and emollient properties support its use as a moisturizer for chapped lips. According to the Pharmacopoeia of India, sesame seeds have potent properties for the promotion of breastfeeding and are effective in treating amenorrhea and other menstrual disorders. Have also been used traditionally in India sesame seeds for its alleged abortifacient effects. Read the rest of this entry »
Traditional Uses of Sesame | Middle East and Western Herbal Medicine
Medicine in the Middle East
The phrase “open sesame” refers to the tendency of open sesame seeds when ripe, and was first used in the book A Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Ali Baba, the book’s main character, used the phrase as a password to open the secret entrance to a cave. Sesame was used in Assyria, about 700 BC.
It is said that wine was drunk by sesame Assyrian gods before creating the earth. A traditional Arab remedy for colds and cough is the sesame oil and red onions cooked with eggs. In Iran, sesame oil as a laxative taken by mouth. In Jordan, sesame seed oil is taken orally to stimulate milk flow and to suppress the cough. Read the rest of this entry »
Traditional Uses of Sesame | European and Latin American Medicine
European Medicine
You have written that sesame oil was brought to Europe from India in the first century BC. Other texts say that sesame oil was produced in Urartu (now Armenia) from 1950 BC. According to secondary sources, the ancient Greeks ate sesame seeds for its stimulant and to increase energy and enhance athletic performance.
In Unani medicine (a school of medicine based on Greek philosophy and adopted by Arab and Indian cultures), it is believed that sesame has contraceptive effects – apply dry seeds of sesame or sesame oil on the penis before intercourse to prevent conception. In Europe, traditionally, sesame oil is taken by their supposed ability to stimulate menstruation. In Western European countries, sesame allegedly taken is taken as a laxative and to treat dysentery. Read the rest of this entry »
Traditional Uses of Sesame | China and Eastern/Southeast Asia Medicine
It is reported that over 3,000 years, the sesame seeds have been used in China as food and medicine, and the production of ink for calligraphy. Sesame is included in the text of ancient Chinese pharmacopoeia Classic of Materia Medica for Farmers, which was written some 2,500 years ago. In traditional Chinese medicine, have been used sesame dried flowers to cure alopecia, freezing, constipation (because sesame oil is a laxative), and warts.
According to secondary sources, sesame oil has been a traditional Chinese remedy for dental and periodontal disorders (such as toothache and gum disease), from the fourth century BC. The ground seeds of sesame have been used topically to treat insect bites and skin burns from the eighth century BC. The Chinese also applied a poultice of sesame in the skin to treat numerous diseases, including disorders of the skin (eg wounds and psoriasis) and joint disorders (such as inflammation of the joints). Read the rest of this entry »
Traditional Uses of Sesame | Ayurveda and Medicine of The Caribbean
Ayurveda
The Sushruta Samhita, an Ayurvedic text written in Sanskrit, sesame oil is considered the “most meritorious” between the oil and is recommended for wounds, burns and animal bites or insects. In Ayurveda recommends the regular application of topical sesame oil massage to promote health in general.
In Ayurveda, medicated oils are prepared by prolonged cooking sesame oil with a pasty mass of herbs and herbal tea. The Modern Ayurvedic physicians worldwide have used sesame oil to treat various chronic diseases, including diseases of the liver (hepatitis), diabetes and migraines. They assume that the application of sesame oil to the hair darker hair color. Also used to prevent graying and hair loss. Read the rest of this entry »
Traditional Uses of Sesame | African Medicine
The sesame seeds or sesame (Sesamum indicum) is a plant that is grown throughout the world for its edible seeds. Sesame oil, a source of vitamin E, is derived from sesame seeds. There are many varieties of sesame oil that vary in flavor and color. Sesame oil is used as cooking oil for massage as a treatment for hair, in the manufacture of food and medicine, various religious practices, and as an industrial solvent. Furthermore, sesame oil is often used as a means of oral and intravenous drugs. In folk medicine, sesame seeds have been used to treat a variety of wounds.
African Medicine
We report the use of sesame in medicine and Egyptian cuisine started around 1500 BC. Sesame oil was used as fuel for lighting lamps have been discovered in Egyptian archaeological sites. There are reports that sesame oil is a traditional remedy for sore Egyptian circulatory disorders, arthritis and nerve (eg caused by sciatica neuralgia), and for removing excess wax the ears. During the Bronze Age, sesame plants were used as a source of oil in Syria and Mesopotamia. It is believed that African slaves brought sesame to the Americas in the 1600s. Read the rest of this entry »