Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the most important oilseed crops, having seeds and its edible oil that are highly valued as a traditional food. Many studies have examined the health value of sesame seeds and oil. Among the bioactive components in sesame seeds, lignans and tocopherols have been identified as the major antioxidants responsible for the resistant oxidative deterioration of sesame seeds and oil. These same antioxidants have been reported to have protective effects against human disease such as neurodegenerative disease. This review summarizes the chemical properties of lignans including lipid-soluble lignans, lignan glucosides and tocopherols, and their bioactivities such as antioxidativity and neuroprotection. We also review the biosynthesis of lignan in sesame seeds and transformation of lignans during food processing in sesame oil. Sesame seeds and its antioxidants may be a potent natural agent with both therapeutic applications and use in preventing human illness such as neurodegenerative disease.

Neuroprotective strategies have been appeared to be effective in a variety of stroke models. One of the major focuses has been related to the activities of estrogen. -estradiol valerate(EV) has been reported to exert neuroprotective effects when administered before an ischemic insult. The purpose of this study was to determine whether EV can protect against brain injury via estrogen receptor. Chronic and acute pretreatment can reduce the ischemic damage of focal cerebral ischemia in OVX rat, indicating that EV may be a new therapeutic class of drugs to prevent neuronal damage associated with cerebral ischemia. RNAs were extracted from the hippocampus of ovariectomized female rat with or without EV. Differential gene expression profiles were revealed(Bone morphogenetic protein type 1A receptor, Protein disulphide isomerase, cytochrome bc-1 complex core P, thiol-specific antioxidant protein). RT-PCR and in situ hybridization were used to validate the relative expression pattern obtained by the cDNA array. This Study was supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation(KOSEF) through the Biohealth Products Research Center(BPRC), Inje University, Korea