Enhancing Functional Compounds in Sesame Oil through Acid-Soaking and Microwave-Heating of Sesame Seeds.

This study investigated whether pre-treating sesame ( L.) seeds with a combination of acid-soaking and microwave-heating could significantly enhance the quality of the resulting sesame oil, particularly by increasing its content of functional compounds such as lignans, tocopherol, phytosterol, and squalene. The study revealed that soaking the sesame seeds in a solution of HCl and citric acid, along with microwave-heating, significantly increased the content of these compounds.