Sesame seeds are rich in lignan content and have been well-known for their health benefits. Unlike the other sesame lignan compounds (i.e., sesamin and sesamol), the study of the pharmacological activity of sesamolin has not been explored widely. This review, therefore, summarizes the information related to sesamolin’s pharmacological activities, and the mechanism of action. Moreover, the influence of its physicochemical properties on pharmacological activity is also discussed. Sesamolin possessed neuroprotective activity against hypoxia-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress in neuron cells by reducing the ROS and inhibiting apoptosis. In skin cancer, sesamolin exhibited antimelanogenesis by affecting the expression of the melanogenic enzymes. The anticancer activity of sesamolin based on antiproliferation and inhibition of migration was demonstrated in human colon cancer cells. In addition, treatment with sesamolin could stimulate immune cells to enhance the cytolytic activity to kill Burkitt’s lymphoma cells. However, the toxicity and safety of sesamolin have not been reported. And there is also less information on the experimental study in vivo. The limited aqueous solubility of sesamolin becomes the main problem, which affects its pharmacological activity in the in vitro experiment and clinical efficacy. Therefore, solubility enhancement is needed for further investigation and determination of its pharmacological activity profiles. Since there are fewer reports studying this issue, it could become a future prospective research opportunity.

中文翻译：

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芝麻素洞察：理化性质、药理活性和未来研究前景

芝麻含有丰富的木酚素含量，并以其健康益处而闻名。与其他芝麻木脂素化合物（即芝麻素和芝麻酚）不同，芝麻素的药理活性研究尚未得到广泛探索。因此，本综述总结了与芝麻素的药理活性和作用机制相关的信息。此外，还讨论了其理化性质对药理活性的影响。芝麻素通过减少 ROS 和抑制细胞凋亡，对缺氧诱导的活性氧 (ROS) 和神经元细胞的氧化应激具有神经保护活性。在皮肤癌中，芝麻素通过影响黑色素生成酶的表达表现出抗黑色素生成。芝麻素基于抗增殖和抑制迁移的抗癌活性在人结肠癌细胞中得到证实。此外，芝麻素治疗可以刺激免疫细胞增强杀伤伯基特淋巴瘤细胞的溶细胞活性。然而，芝麻素的毒性和安全性尚未见报道。而且关于体内实验研究的信息也较少。芝麻素有限的水溶性成为主要问题，影响其在体外实验中的药理活性和临床疗效。因此，进一步研究和确定其药理活性谱需要提高溶解度。由于研究这个问题的报告较少，因此它可能成为未来的前瞻性研究机会。