Ma You

Sesamum indicum is an erect annual herb of the family Pedaliaceae, probably originating in Africa or the Indian subcontinent and now cultivated throughout warm regions of Asia, Africa and the Americas. The slightly succulent, quadrangular stem reaches 60-150 cm and bears opposite to alternate, ovate-lanceolate leaves 5-15 cm long, the lower often lobed. Solitary tubular, bell-shaped flowers 3-4 cm long, white to pale pink with darker throat markings, are borne in the leaf axils and are followed by erect, four-angled, oblong capsules 2-5 cm long that dehisce explosively at maturity to release numerous small, flattened-ovoid seeds about 3 mm long, white, cream or black depending on cultivar. The seeds contain 45-55% of a pale yellow, mild-tasting fixed oil rich in oleic and linoleic acids, expressed for culinary and medicinal use as Ma You.