Food and nutraceutical functions of sesame oil: An underutilized crop for nutritional and health benefits

•Sesame is one of the most health-beneficial seed oil crops.•Sesamin, sesamol, and sesamolin are the main health promoting bioactive components.•Neuroprotective effect of sesame is highly studied among others.•Demand for sesame with high lignans, low free fatty acids and anti-nutritional factors.•Recommendations for utilizing sesame and seed oil as food and nutraceutical components. Sesame is the oldest oilseed crop known to humanity, though it contributes a small share in the global vegetable oil production. Sesame oil contains nutrients, including lignans, tocopherols, phytosterols, natural antioxidants, and bioactive compounds. It provides various health benefits such as anti-lipogenic, hypo-cholesterolemic, anti-degenerative, and neural health-promoting properties. Being an under-utilized minor crop, it has not received enough research attention for its food and nutraceutical potential. The sesame crop is a potential candidate to maintain the diversity of food oils and harness its benefits for improving human health. The present review will provide detailed research on sesame oil contents, health effects, nutraceuticals, oil quality, and value addition strategies. Also, the sesame oil nutritional quality was compared with other vegetable oils, highlighting the potential health and nutrition-related benefits. The way forward for further sesame improvement through value addition traits was also discussed.