MINI REVIEW article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Sustainable Food Processing
Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1569522
Exploring Biochemical and Catalytic Processes for Sustainable Sesame Crop Valorization in Biorefinery Applications
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universidad de La Salle Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
- 2University of Cartagena, Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia
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The transition from fossil-based to bio-based chemicals and fuels is essential to mitigate environmental impacts and promote sustainability. Sesame (Sesamun indicum L.), a widely used oilseed crop, presents significant potential for biorefinery applications due to its high oil content, valuable bioactive compounds, and abundant lignocellulosic biomass. This review explores recent advances in bio-based, extraction, and catalytic processes for the integral valorization of sesame crop. Bio-based conversion routes, including anaerobic digestion and fermentation, enable the sustainable production of biofuels such as biogas, ethanol, and biodiesel. Advanced extraction techniques facilitate the recovery of high-value compounds, namely lignans and proteins, for its use in pharmaceuticals and functional foods. Catalytic processes, such as transesterification and epoxidation, further expand the potential of sesame oil for bioplastics, polyurethane production, and biofuel synthesis. The novelty of this review lies in providing the first integrated assessment of sesame valorization pathways within a biorefinery framework, highlighting unexplored synergies across energy, materials, and nutraceuticals applications. Key challenges such as process scalability, cost-efficiency, and environmental trade-offs were identified as critical barriers for large-scale implementation. Addressing these gaps can guide future research efforts and inform policy makers, ultimately creating economic opportunities for farmers, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and promoting circular bio-economy models based on sesame and similar crops.
Keywords: sesame, Biorefinery, biochemicals, polyurethane, biofuels Frontiers, lignan, anaerobic digestion, Epoxidation
Received: 31 Jan 2025; Accepted: 13 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gonzalez, Franceschi, Ojeda Delgado and Sánchez-Tuirán. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Juan Miguel Gonzalez, Universidad de La Salle Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.