Sesamum, Sesame, Hei Zhi Ma 黑芝麻Til, Tila (Ayurveda)
Hei Zhi Ma (TCM) Kunjad Siyah (Unani) |
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Prosperi Alpini, de plantis Aegypti liber, 1592
Koehler, Medizinal Pflanzen, 1890
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Botanical name:
Sesamum indicum
Parts used:
Seed (Black are stronger)
Temperature & Taste:
Slightly Warm, moist. Sweet
Classifications:
2K. RESOLVENT. 2L. EMOLLIENT. 2P. HEMOSTATIC. 2Q. ANODYNE. 2U. SUPPURATIVE
3H. LACTAGOGUE. 3I. APHRODISIAC. 3J. INCREASE SEMEN
Sesamum indicum
Parts used:
Seed (Black are stronger)
Temperature & Taste:
Slightly Warm, moist. Sweet
Classifications:
2K. RESOLVENT. 2L. EMOLLIENT. 2P. HEMOSTATIC. 2Q. ANODYNE. 2U. SUPPURATIVE
3H. LACTAGOGUE. 3I. APHRODISIAC. 3J. INCREASE SEMEN
Uses:
1. Nourishes and Tonifies the Liver and Kidneys:
-weakness of the Kidney and Liver Yin (Body moisture), with failing Eyesight, blurred Vision, Tinnitus and Dizziness.
-useful for old weak patients, and for those recovering from severe and chronic disease; used for Paralysis, Rheumatism (TCM)
-strengthens Bones, Teeth; beneficial in Osteoporosis and chronic lower back pain
-‘It is a remedy against ... pains of the Joints... It is a remedy against Sounding and Ringing of the Ears’. (Gerard)
-good hair tonic and is used for premature Greying of the Hair;
-listed by Dioscorides for Fractures, and griefs of the Eyes.
2. Nourishes the Blood, Calms Wind, Stops Spasm:
-Headaches, Numbness and Dizziness from deficient Blood or Yin (TCM);
-Gerard used it for Headaches from Heat.
-more recently recommended for Parkinson’s disease.
-Said in Ayurveda to be the best tonic and rejuvenating agent for Vata/Wind Dosas.
3. Moisten the Intestines:
-promotes passage of stool; used for Constipation from dryness, weakness, or deficient blood.
-Piles, including bleeding Piles in Ayurveda, for which it may be applied topically and taken internally.
4. Moves the Blood:
-Amenorrhea and Dysmenorrhea; irregular menstruation and spasmodic menstrual pain. (Ayurveda)
5. Nourish Lung Yin, Stops Cough:
-dry Cough
-Lung Yin deficiency; a good Lung tonic
6. Yogavaha:
-enhances or strengthens the other medicines it is used with. (Ayurveda)
7. Externally:
-seeds have been used both internally and externally for skin conditions including Eczema, Leprosy and Psoriasis.
-A decoction of the seeds is used as a hip-bath to promote Menstruation.
-In India, a Decoction of the leaves and roots is used as a hair wash to promote hair growth, and to blacken the hair
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DOSE:
Seeds may be used in Decoction or Powder; the paste of the seeds (Tahini) can also be used in compounds; the Oil is much used externally in Ayurveda and is occasionally added to internal compounds.
In Decoction: 5–30 grams; in Powder: 2–6 grams
CORRECTIVE:
Honey
SUBSTITUTE:
1. Linseed or Hemp seed
2. For Sesame oil, oils of Olive, Almond or Linseed can usually be used.
Seeds may be used in Decoction or Powder; the paste of the seeds (Tahini) can also be used in compounds; the Oil is much used externally in Ayurveda and is occasionally added to internal compounds.
In Decoction: 5–30 grams; in Powder: 2–6 grams
CORRECTIVE:
Honey
SUBSTITUTE:
1. Linseed or Hemp seed
2. For Sesame oil, oils of Olive, Almond or Linseed can usually be used.
Main Combinations:
1. Tonic for the aged:
i. Black Sesame seed powder with Honey and Ghee (Ayurveda)
ii. to the above can be added Triphala, Withania
iii. Black Sesame seed (50 grams), Walnuts (100 grams), form a congee with Rice.
2. As a tonic, increasing strength and Intellect:
i. Black Sesame seed with Triphala, Long Pepper, Black Pepper, Ginger
ii. Black Sesame seed with Triphala, Honey and Ghee.
3. Aphrodisiac, to strengthen the Kidney and nourish Semen:
i. Black Sesame seed with Withania and Shilajit
ii. Black Sesame seed with Triphala, Orchid, Parsnip seed, Long Pepper, Red and White Behen (as in Triphala Electuary Greater)
iii. Black Sesame seed with Pine nut, Sweet Almond, Walnut, Pistachio, Orchis, Galangal, Sea Holly root, Asparagus root, Aniseed, White Poppy seed, Parsnip seed, Onion seed, Rocket seed, Fennel seed (as in Antidote for Cold Lumbar, for Venery, and Defect of Semen of Nicholas)
4. Infertility from Kidney deficiency:
i. Sesame seed, Shatavari, Withania
ii. Sesame seed, Withania, Shilajit, Nutmeg
iii. Sesame seed, Ginseng, Dioscorea Shan Yao
5. Strengthen the Bones and lower Back:
i. Sesame seed, Withania, Bdellium, Long Pepper (Ayurveda)
ii. Sesame seed, Asparagus root, Shailjit
6. Premature Ejaculation, use Unripe Rue, Toasted Rue, Poppy seed, Sesame seed (as in Pills of Hindi Mumsik of Unani)
7, Chronic Constipation:
i. Sesame seed oil (5 grams), Honey (15 grams). Mix well and take before breakfast.
ii. Sesame seed, Chebulic Myrobalan, Hemp seed (Ayurveda)
iii. in the aged due to dryness and deficiency, Black Sesame seed with Dang Gui, Polygonum He Shou Wu
8. Dysentery, Blood in the Stool, combine Raw Sesame seed (30 grams), toasted Sesame seed (15 grams), fried Black Fungus (15 grams). Make a powder, using 5 grams each time to make a tea. (TCM)
9. Dry Cough from Lung deficiency, Sesame seed, Sida, Inula racemosus (Ayurveda)
10. Dry, itchy Skin conditions, Sesame seed, Asparagus racemosus, Licorice (Ayurveda)
11. To promote Milk:
i. Black Sesame seed with Fennel, Fenugreek
ii. Black Sesame seed with Red Clover, Aniseed, Fennel, Poppy seed (as in Powder for Defect of Milk)
12. As a hair tonic, boil Eclipta (Bhringaraja, Han Lian Cao) in Sesame oil and apply daily.
Major Formulas:
Confection of Sesame and Triphala (Ayurveda)
Triphala Electuary Greater (Unani)
Triphera of the Saracens (Triphera Saracenica Magna)
Antidote for Cold Lumbar, for Venery, and Defect of Semen (Nicholas)
Powder for Defect of Milk
Cautions:
1. Not for chronic Diarrhea associated with Spleen deficiency.
2. Large doses are abortifacient
Main Preparations used:
Expressed Oil
1. Not for chronic Diarrhea associated with Spleen deficiency.
2. Large doses are abortifacient
Main Preparations used:
Expressed Oil
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History
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'Sesame is a plant which we find on the authority of the most ancient documents of Egyptian, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Greek, and Roman literature, has been used by mankind for the sake of its oily seeds from the earliest times. The Egyptian name Semsemt already occurring in the Papyrus Ebers, is still existing in the Coptic Semsem, the Arabic Simsim, and the modern Sesamum. The Indian languages have their own terms for it, the Hindustani Til, from the Sanskrit Tila, being one of the best known. Tila already occurs in the Vedic literature. In the days of Pliny the oil was an export from Sind to Europe by way of the Red Sea,
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precisely as the seeds are at the present day.
During the middle ages the plant, then known as Suseman or Sempsen, was cultivated in Cyprus, Egypt and Sicily; the oil was an article of import from Alexandria to Venice. Joachim Camerarius gave a good figure of the plant in his "Hortus medicus et philosophicus" 1588. In modern times sesame oil gave way to that of olives, yet at present it is an article which, if not so renowned, is at least of far greater consumption'. (Pharmacographia, Fluckiger & Hanbury, 1879) |
The Chinese Classic Ben Cao Kang Mu said: 'Taking black sesame seeds can heal all the chronic illness after 100 days, improve skin tone of body and face after 1 year, reverse gray hair after 2 years, and regrow teeth after 3 years'.