Abstract
The effect of sesame meal on senescence was studied using senescence-accelerated mice (SAM-P/1), since sesame is rich in antioxidants. For 28 weeks, a group of 12 pairs of SAM-P/1 mice was given a control diet which contained 25% casein and 10% corn oil, and another group was given a sesame diet containing 20% ground sesame (10% oil content) and also 21% casein to make the protein content equivalent to that in the control diet. The degree of senescence of SAM-P/1 mice, which was evaluated in terms of fertility and also by a grading score system for loss of passivity and reactivity, skin condition and periophylalmic lesions, was retarded by feeding with sesame. The lipofuscin levels in the liver and testis were slightly lower in the sesame group than in the control group. However, peroxide levels in the liver and kidney were approximately equal in both groups. The plasma α-tocopherol level was slightly higher in the sesame group than in the control group, and the level of γ-tocopherol in plasma, which was very low compared with that of α-tocopherol, was also higher in the sesame group than in the control one, in spite of the lower contents of both α- and γ-tocopherol in the sesame diet than in the control diet. It is suggested that antioxidants other than tocopherol in sesame exert some suppressive effect on the manifestation of senescence.
