Changing consumption patterns and increasing health awareness, especially in Europe, are resulting in an increased demand for sesame seeds. In 2016, Asia imported the highest quantity of sesame seeds, followed by Europe and North America. We examined, for the first time, the effects of treatment with sesame oil and sesamin in hearing impairment models. Sesame oil exhibited an ameliorative effect on auditory impairment in a hair cell line in zebrafish and mice. In ototoxic zebrafish larvae, neuromasts and otic cells increased in numbers because of sesame oil. Furthermore, auditory function in noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) was studied through auditory brainstem response to evaluate the therapeutic effects of sesame oil. Sesame oil reduced the hearing threshold shift in response to clicks and 8, 16-kHz tone bursts in NIHL mice. Auditory-protective effect of sesame oil was seen in zebrafish and mice; therefore, we used chromatographic analysis to study sesamin, which is the major effective factor in sesame oil. To investigate its effects related to auditory function, we studied the hearing-related gene, Tecta, using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay. Auditory cell proliferation was induced by treatment with sesame oil and sesamin using Tecta (Tectorin Alpha) regulation. The expression of Tecta increases in the apex area of the cochlear hair cells as they grow, and their activity is enhanced by sesame oil and sesamin. These results provide a novel mechanistic insight into the sesame oil activities and suggest that sesamin, the key constituent in sesame oil, is responsible for its auditory function related benefits, including protection of auditory cells and reversal of their impairments.

中文翻译：

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芝麻油和芝麻素通过与听力损失相关的基因表达变化来诱导听觉保护作用。

不断变化的消费方式和对健康的意识增强，尤其是在欧洲，导致对芝麻的需求增加。2016年，亚洲进口了最多的芝麻，其次是欧洲和北美。我们首次检查了芝麻油和芝麻素在听力障碍模型中的治疗效果。芝麻油对斑马鱼和小鼠的毛细胞系听觉损伤有改善作用。在耳毒性斑马鱼的幼虫中，由于麻油的缘故，神经母细胞和耳细胞数量增加。此外，还通过听觉脑干反应研究了噪声诱发的听力损失（NIHL）中的听觉功能，以评估麻油的治疗效果。芝麻油可降低NIHL小鼠中对咔嗒声和8次16 kHz音调突发的听觉阈值偏移。在斑马鱼和小鼠中发现了麻油的听觉保护作用。因此，我们使用色谱分析法研究了芝麻素，芝麻素是芝麻油中的主要有效成分。为了研究其与听觉功能相关的作用，我们研究了与听力有关的基因，使用3-（4,5-二甲基噻唑-2-基）-2,5-二苯基-四唑溴化物（MTT）分析法进行检测。听觉细胞增殖是通过使用Tecta（Tectorin Alpha）调节的芝麻油和芝麻素处理诱导的。随着耳蜗毛细胞的生长，Tecta的表达在其耳尖区域增加，而芝麻油和芝麻素则增强了它们的活性。这些结果为芝麻油的活动提供了一种新颖的机械方法，并表明芝麻油是芝麻油的关键成分，它负责与听觉功能有关的益处，包括保护听觉细胞和逆转其损伤。