Vol. 7, Issue 11, Part I (2025)

Sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum L.) have emerged as significant functional food ingredients due to their dense nutritional profile, bioactive compounds, and stability under diverse processing conditions. As global demand for plant-based functional foods increases, comparative assessments of sesame processing methods are essential for understanding how each technique influences the retention, transformation, or loss of physiologically beneficial constituents. This article provides an in-depth comparative overview of primary and secondary sesame seed processing techniques—including roasting, drying, soaking, fermentation, dehulling, oil extraction, and by-product valorization—and evaluates their collective influence on nutritional quality, antioxidant capacity, lipid stability, and sensory attributes. Traditional heat-based operations are known to enhance flavor but can affect oxidative stability and degrade heat-sensitive lignans, whereas controlled roasting, steam treatment, and fermentation may enhance bioavailability and generate novel bioactive metabolites. Conversely, mechanical processes such as dehulling and cold pressing influence mineral content, oil yield, and oxidative resistance. Despite the wide documentation of sesame’s functional properties, systematic comparisons of processing effects remain fragmented, especially in contexts linking nutritional chemistry with functional-food applications. The present review synthesizes evidence from food chemistry, nutrition, and processing engineering to bridge this gap and clarify how different techniques shape sesame's functional potential. The findings underscore that optimized processing—particularly mild-heat treatments, enzymatic conditioning, and precision cold-pressing—maximizes lignan stability, reduces antinutritional factors, and improves the sensory and shelf-life qualities essential for functional food development. The review highlights the need for integrated, technology-driven processing frameworks to support industrial-scale production of sesame-based functional foods with consistent quality attributes, contributing to evidence-based innovation in food manufacturing and public health nutrition.