Sesamum alatum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Pedaliaceae
Genus: Sesamum
Sectio: S. sect. Sesamopteris
Species: Sesamum alatum
Name

Sesamum alatum Thonn.
References

C. F. Schumacher, Beskr. Guin. pl. 284. 1827
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Sesamum alatum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Sesamum alatum is a species of flowering plant in the Pedaliaceae. It is in the same genus as sesame. In English it is called winged-seed sesame.[1] Its native range spans from Western Sahara to Egypt and south to KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.[2]

Etymology

The scientific name for the genus Sesamum derives from Latin sesamum and Greek sēsamon; which in return derive from ancient Semitic languages, akin to Akkadian šamaššamu.[3] The roots of the words generally referred to "oil" or "liquid fat".[4][5] The scientific name for the species alatum come from the neuter form of Latin atlas meaning "winged".[6]
Description
A field of winged-seed sesame in Kruger National Park.

It is an annual erect herb, reaching heights of 50 to 150 cm. It has heteromorphic leaves deeply divided into narrow, linear-lanceolate lobes; the upper leaves are simple, with the exception of some mucilage glands with an entire margin.[7]
Five winged-seed sesame specimens from India.

Its flowers measure 3.5 cm in diameter and are reddish pink with darker lines in the lower lobe of the corolla. The fruit is an obconical capsule with a beak. The seeds are winged at both ends and edible.[8]
Use
Culinary

The seeds are edible and can be eaten raw, cooked, pulverized into a powder, or pressed to make oil. In Sudan the seed is both pressed for oil and the seed pods of the plant are eaten.[9] The oil content of winged-seed sesame contains higher amounts of oleic acid and palmitic acid, but lower amounts of linoleic acid than Sesamum Indicum.[10] In Chad, where in the local Arabic dialect they are known as Sumsum al rhazal the leaves are eaten.[11] They are a cultivated crop in some areas of Ghana and the young shoots are edible with a mucilaginous texture; being cooked and eaten as a vegetable.[12]
Medicinal

The Shona call the plant guzozo[13] and throughout its native rage, locals use the plant as an aphrodisiac, a cure to diarrhoea and various intestinal disorders.[14] Antidiabetic Renoprotective activity has been claimed to be present in the plant which are said to combat Type 2 Diabetes and other metabolic disorder, characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, although the exact compounds that are responsible for that activity has yet to be discovered.[15]
References

"Flora of Zimbabwe: Species information: Sesamum alatum". www.zimbabweflora.co.zw. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
"Sesamum alatum Thonn. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary. "Definition: Teel, Sesame". Merriam-Webster.
Bedigian, D (2010). Sesame: The genus Sesamum. CRC Press. p. 400. ISBN 978-1-4200-0520-2.
"Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)". Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages.
"alatus/alata/alatum, AO - Latin is Simple Online Dictionary". www.latin-is-simple.com. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
Kirby, G. (2013). Wild Flowers of Southeast Botswana Struik Nature, Cape Town South Africa Page 289
Chapano, C., Mugarisanwa, N.H. (2003). Plants of the Matobo District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 33
"Sesamum alatum - Useful Tropical Plants". tropical.theferns.info. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
Kamal-Eldin, A.; Yousif, G.; Iskander, G. M.; Appelqvist, L.-Å (1992). "Seed Lipids of Sesamum indicum, L. and Related Wild Species in Sudan I: Fatty Acids and Triacylglycerols". Lipid / Fett. 94 (7): 254–259. doi:10.1002/lipi.19920940705. ISSN 1521-4133.
"Sesamum alatum | Purdue University Famine Foods". Retrieved 2021-07-26.
"Sesamum alatum - Useful Tropical Plants". tropical.theferns.info. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
"Flora of Zimbabwe: Species information: Sesamum alatum". www.zimbabweflora.co.zw. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
"Sesamum alatum - Useful Tropical Plants". tropical.theferns.info. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
"Role of Sesamum alatum on nephropathy in diabetic rats.| INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH". 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2021-07-26.