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Published on: September 20, 2019
Effects of Sesame Consumption on Inflammatory Biomarkers in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of
Shabnam Rafiee1, Roghaye Faryabi1, Alireza Yargholi1
1Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.
Objectives:
Existing evidence produces conflicting findings regarding the effect of sesame intake on inflammatory biomarkers; this knowledge gap has yet to be met through systematic review and meta-analysis. This meta-analysis of randomized, controlled clinical trials (RCTs) was conducted to evaluate the effects of sesame consumption on markers of inflammation in humans.
Methods:
PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched through August 2020 to identify relevant papers for inclusion. Using the random-effects model, data were evaluated as weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Cochrane's Q and I-squared (I 2) tests were used to identify within-studies heterogeneity.
Results:
Seven RCTs with 310 participants (157 intervention and 153 control) were included in the meta-analysis. Sesame consumption reduced serum level interleukin-6 (IL-6) (WMD - 0.90; 95% CI (-1.71, -0.09), I 2 = 80.4%) compared to the control group. However, sesame intake had no significant effects on C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) compared to the control group. Subgroup analysis identified a reduction in serum CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6 concentration among studies with participants who had a higher level of these biomarkers at baseline, those which used sesamin capsules, and those with a bigger sample size, those conducted in Asia, and studies on females.
Conclusion:
Sesame consumption reduced serum levels of IL-6 but did not affect CRP and TNF-α in humans. Additional trials should be conducted utilizing a larger and longer treatment duration, along with studies using different sesame formulations (capsule, oil, and seed) and conducting on participants with varied health conditions.
