Sesame Oil: Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Sesame oil is pressed from the seeds of the sesame plant, Sesamum indicum (family Pedaliaceae). It is a liquid oil used in cooking, dressings and finishing dishes. The USDA item on this page is sesame oil for salad or cooking. [1] Toasted (dark) sesame oil is a different, stronger-flavored product, and we did not find nutrient data for it in the sources we read. Sesame is a major food allergen in the US, so this page spends time on that. It keeps the oil apart from the whole seed and from hype.

Read this first

• Sesame is a major allergen. Since January 1, 2023, US law lists sesame as the ninth major food allergen. [2] Sesame allergy is increasing and usually lasts. [3] If you are allergic to sesame, ask your allergist before using sesame oil. For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, call 911 (or your local emergency number).
• Labels: highly refined oils are exempt from major-allergen labeling, and oils that are not highly refined must declare the allergen source. The source must always be in the oil's name. [4] The FDA sesame pages we read did not address oils. [2] [5]
• It is pure fat and energy dense. USDA lists about 120 kcal in 1 tablespoon (13.6 g). [1]
• Small trials suggest blood pressure and blood sugar effects, but they are weak. Most were small, open-label, or lacked a control group. [6] [7] [8] If you take medicines for blood pressure or diabetes, tell your clinician before making sesame oil your main oil.
• Evidence in one line: swapping saturated fat for unsaturated oils lowers LDL cholesterol, [9] but sesame oil has no cholesterol advantage in the trials we read. [6]

What is in it (USDA values)

The values below are for sesame oil, salad or cooking, USDA FoodData Central item 171016, SR Legacy. [1] The serving column is the USDA household portion of 1 tablespoon, 13.6 g. [1]

% Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values. Serving figures are the 100 g values multiplied by 0.136. USDA lists zero for the last three rows. [1] USDA also lists a vitamin D value for this item, but it looks like a database artifact for a plant oil, so we do not report it. USDA lists no trans fat value for this item.

Sesame oil is low in vitamin E compared with sunflower or safflower oil: USDA lists 1.4 mg per 100 g. [1] Plant compounds: USDA lists plant sterols at 865 mg per 100 g, higher than the other oils in this group that list it. [1] A 2026 review of sesame seeds describes bioactive compounds in the seed, but the compounds in the oil as eaten and their effect in people were not shown in the abstract we read. [10]

What research says

Eaten as food vs other forms. The trials above used sesame oil as a cooking or salad oil, about 35 g a day, which is more than 2 tablespoons. That is a trial amount, not advice. [8] [7] We did not read trials of sesame oil capsules or sesame lignan supplements.

How much is a normal serving

The USDA household portion is 1 tablespoon (13.6 g), with about 120 kcal. [1] That is information from USDA data, not a prescription. The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines say saturated fat should in general stay under 10% of daily calories and name olive oil, butter and beef tallow as cooking fat options; sesame oil is not named in the pages we read. [12] The NHS says men should have no more than 30 g and women no more than 20 g of saturated fat a day. [13] USDA lists 1.9 g saturated fat in a tablespoon of sesame oil. [1]

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Sesame allergy: sesame is a major US allergen since 2023. [2] Sesame allergy has risen worldwide and typically persists; diagnosis uses a careful history and an oral food challenge. [3] A 2026 review puts IgE-mediated reactions at about 0.1-0.2% of the population. [10] The FDA says to check labels every time because ingredients can change. [5] We did not find a source we could read that says how much sesame protein remains in sesame oil, or whether refined sesame oil triggers reactions. Ask your allergist.
• Emergency: trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat after eating is an emergency. Call 911 (or your local emergency number).
• Blood pressure medicines: in the sesame oil blood pressure study, people were on diuretics or beta-blockers and their pressure fell further to normal. [6] If you take blood pressure medicines, mention a big change in your cooking oil to your clinician.
• Diabetes medicines: in an open-label study, sesame oil plus glibenclamide lowered glucose more than either alone. [7] That could matter for low blood sugar; ask your care team. This is one small study.
• Heating and frying: we did not read a study of heated sesame oil. Proper evidence not found in the sources we read.
• Vitamin K: USDA lists 13.6 mcg per 100 g, about 1.9 mcg a tablespoon (2% of the Daily Value), small compared with soybean oil. [1]
• Pregnancy, children, kidney disease: we did not find official advice restricting culinary sesame oil in these groups apart from allergy. USDA lists zero potassium, phosphorus and sodium. [1] See foods in pregnancy, food allergy basics and kidney disease and foods.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• If you must avoid sesame, read every label, and remember a "toasted", "cold-pressed" or "unrefined" oil may not be highly refined. [4]
• Sesame can be hidden in spice mixes; the FDA guidance says sesame must be declared in a "Contains" statement or in parentheses after "spice". [4]
• We did not read a source on storage or smoke point for sesame oil. See smoke points and cooking with oil.

Related pages

• Sesame seeds
• Nut and seed allergy basics
• Food allergy basics and emergency signs
• Foods and medicine interactions
• Peanut oil
• Which cooking fat to choose: what health bodies say