The sesaminol glucosides in 80% EtOH extract from sesame seeds were separated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A HPLC system using a Develosil ODS-5 column and gradient elution system from 30% to 80% methanol was selected for separation and quantitative determination of sesaminol triglucoside, sesaminol diglucoside, and sesaminol monoglucoside. Quantitative analyses for these sesaminol glucosides, sesaminol triglucoside, sesaminol diglucoside, and sesaminol monoglucoside were determined on the basis of standard curve of sesaminol glucosides. Sesaminol triglucoside, sesaminol diglucoside and sesaminol monoglucoside contents of the seed of one Korean sesame cultivar, Danbaekggae, were 56.4 mg/100g, 9.6 mg/100g, and 7.5 mg/100g, respectively. The most abundant aglycon of lignan glucosides in sesame seed was sesaminol triglucoside

Sesaminol in sesame seed was postulated to have antitumor activity. The present study was performed to characterize the role of crude sesaminol extracted from sesame seed (Sesame Crude Sesaminol; SCS) on inhibiting the in vitro growth of human leukemia HL-60 cells. SCS inhibited the growth of human leukemia HL 60 cells in culture and macromolecular synthesis in a dose and time dependent manner. The cytostatic range of SCS concentration was found to be 60 to 100 ~mu~textrmg /ml. SCS concentration greater than 200 ~mu~textrmg /mlwere cytocidal to HL-60 cells. When SCS concentraction was 6 ~mu~textrmg /mland 50 ~mu~textrmg /ml the synthesis of HL-60 cells was inhibited by 35% for DNA, 6% for RNA and 5% for protein and 83% for DNA, 76% for RNA and 60% for protein. Of specific interest was the irreversible effect of SCS in inhibiting DNA synthesis of HL-60 cells. This was evidenced from the fact that, even after washed with PBS three times, preincubated HL-60 cells still showed the inhibited DNA synthesis.