Extraction of sesamin from sesame oil using macroporous resin

Sesamin is drawing research attention, due to its effects on the various body regulators. Currently there are two methods employed to separate sesamin: solvent extraction and steam stripping, but both methods have disadvantages in large-scale manufacturing systems. An innovative method for sesamin extraction from sesame oil has been unveiled in this paper, which employs macroporous resin as an adsorbing surface. The final product, sesamin crystal, has been obtained by crystallization of the desorption product. The concentration of sesamin in the desorption product was 9.7%, nearly 20-fold greater than in the starting sesame oil. After further refining, the concentration of sesamin in the final crystalline product reaches 76%. The procedure described in this paper demonstrates that a high concentration of sesamin can be obtained by employing resin adsorption. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.