Water-soluble extracts from defatted sesame seed flour show antioxidant activity in vitro

Defatted white and gold sesame seed flour, recovered as a byproduct after sesame oil extraction, was extracted with 70% ethanol to obtain polar-soluble crude extracts. The in vitro antioxidant activity of the extract was evaluated by DPPH free radical scavenging activity and oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC). The polar-soluble crude extracts of both sesame seed types exhibited good antioxidant capacity, especially by the ORAC method with 34,720 and 21,700 μmol Trolox equivalent/100 g of white and gold sesame seed extract, respectively. HPLC, butanol extraction, and UPLC–MS analyses showed that different compounds contributed to the antioxidant activity of the polar-soluble crude extracts. Sesaminol glycosides were identified in the butanol-soluble fractions; whereas, purified water-soluble fraction contained ferulic and vanillic acids. This study shows that hydrophilic antioxidants in the purified water-soluble fraction contributed to the antioxidant activity of white and gold sesame seed polar-soluble crude extracts.