Tahini, its nutritional profile, biological activity, therapeutic uses and culinary uses
Description : Tahini is a nutritious paste prepared from ground, hulled and toasted sesame seeds. It has been
Article Details :
Tahini is a nutritious paste prepared from ground, hulled and toasted sesame seeds. It has been traditionally used in Greek, North African, Turkish and Middle Eastern and Iranian cuisine. It is extensively used for various therapeutic and culinary purposes.
Some important information regarding tahini
- It is an important Middle Eastern condiment prepared from toasted sesame and considered as a very common ingredient of Middle eastern as well as Mediterranean cooking
- It is basically served as a chief ingredient of hummus, halva and baba ghanoush
- It has strong nutty as well as earthy flavor
- It is oily
- It is thick in consistency and smooth in nature
- It is little bitter in taste
How tahini is prepared?
Below points will discuss about the method of tahini preparation –
- At first, sesame seeds should be soaked properly then crushed and hulled for taking off the kernel
- After that the remaining portion is toasted and further soaked in salt water
- Then it should be subjected to pounding and finally a thick and oily paste is obtained, which is known as tahini
Nutritional profile
- It contains lesser amount of carbohydrates
- It contains dietary fibre as well
- It also contains protein
- It contains desirable amount of fat but does not contain any cholesterol
- It is packed with various micronutrients like B vitamins, Vitamin A, iron, copper, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, selenium and magnesium
- It also contains various imperative phytonutrients that exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenic activity
Biological activity
Antioxidant activity
- Tahini contains significant amount of lignan sesamin that shows antioxidant activity and protects the body from the injurious effects of free radicals
- It helps to improve cellular functions as well thus promotes wellbeing
- It helps to spare various imperative biological substances of body from oxidation hence sustains their functionality
- Moreover its consumption is linked with reducing oxidative stress hence reduces the susceptibility of developing chronic diseases
Anti-inflammatory activity
- Sesame seed exhibits potent anti-inflammatory activity and as sesame seed is utilized for preparing tahini thus consumption of tahini is thought to be very much effective for preventing inflammation
- It helps to reduce the level of inflammatory mediators in body, which ultimately help to decrease inflammation, swelling and pain
- It has seen that its consumption is very much useful for decreasing the concentration of MDA or malondialdehyde in osteoarthritic patient, which helps to prevent joint swelling and aids in improving symptoms
Anti-carcinogenic activity
- As tahini is made by sesame seed thus it contains sesamol, an important natural substance of sesame seed, which is responsible for exerting anti-carcinogenic activity
- It helps to hinder the growth of cancerous cells in body by inducing apoptosis
- It helps to prevent metastasis as well
- It is also related with suppressing the growth of tumor cell in body
- It has seen that tahini significantly decreases the prevalence of liver, colon, skin, lung and cervical cancer
Antimicrobial activity
- It helps to prevent the growth and reproduction of bacteria within host thus lowers the risk of developing contagious diseases. Whereas, it is also very effective against drug resistant bacteria
- Its consumption is thought to be very much beneficial for preventing diabetes associated foot wounds as well
Health benefits
Role on nervous system
- Consumption of tahini is believed to be very effective for improving the functionality of central and peripheral nervous system
- It has seen that its antioxidant activities play important role in protecting nerve cells from free radical induced oxidative damages thus help to sustain their activity
- It also helps to prevent inflammatory damages of brain thus improves brain’s action
- Its consumption is associated with improving memory too
Role on cardiac health
- Sesame seed contains various cardio protective nutrients that promote cardiac health, as tahini is prepared with sesame seed thus its consumption is thought to be extremely helpful for improving cardiac functionality as well
- It helps to decrease the concentration of LDL, VLDL and Read more
