To Investigate the Physicochemical Properties of Cold Pressed Sesame Oil

The aim of the current study was to investigate the characteristics of sesame oils prepared by cold pressing method. 18 samples of sesame oil were collected and addition to qualitative characteristics, the amount of Cis and trans fatty acid, sterols, sterenes and tocopherols were determined. The results showed that 7 out of 18 samples (about 39%) did not match with the national standard at least for one of the investigated characteristics. The highest non-conformance of the samples related to the amount of tocopherols and sterols. The most important sterol in sesame oil was beta-sitosterol (between 57.7 and 61.9%).The current study showed that samples of sesame oil had the acceptable qualitative specifications, although some of them showed a decrease in tocopherol, which could be due to the use of thermal elements during oil extraction. Therefore, determining the amount of tocopherol is an important indicator to determine the quality of cold pressed oil.