Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, USA BPharm, BSc (Chem), PhD (London), FRPharmS, Reader and Head of Pharmacognosy (retired),School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of Bath, UK

"This work will long stand as the standard reference on the subject, and one can only wish Professor Bedigian every success in seeing to completion her taxonomic revision of the genus."—Neil A. Harriman, Biology Department, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh"It has been a life-long goal of Dr. Bedigian to assemble this extraordinary compilation (26 chapters, 36 contributors) defining all aspects of sesame, "a wonderful, but mysterious, plant that has had many uses throughout human agricultural history." This is not a compilation of prior information, but includes new data on traditional medicinal uses, historic documents, and the latest laboratory studies involving medicinal and aromatic constituents of sesame."—Walter H. Lewis, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA in Economic Botany

• General Introduction to the Sesame Crop. Taxonomy of the genus Sesamum. Phytochemistry of the lignans Sesamin and Sesamolin. Role in Nutrition and Healing. Industrial Profile. Cultivation of Sesame. Domestication. History of Usage of Sesame. Modern Use, Ethnographic Data and Folklore, Examples from Asia. Modern Use, Ethnobotany in Africa. Linguistic Analysis of Sesame Names in Africa and Asia.