A germplasm collection of Tamil Nadu comprising of nine varieties and six landraces were analyzed for their ω3 fatty acid content, lignans such as sesamin and sesamol. The percentage of ALA ranges from 0.1 to 0.55%. A wide variation was observed in sesamol content. The highest sesamol content of 0.547 mg/g was found in a variety SVPR1. The sesamin content ranged between 2.03 and 6.45 mg/g. A negative relationship was observed between total oil content and ALA. White sesame seeds had higher sesamol content whereas black varieties revealed higher sesamin content.

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