Food and nutrition insecurity are a major problem in low-income countries. However, some crops like sesame are still underused and can be used to improve the food and nutritional security in rural areas. Grains of seven varieties of sesame comprising four (4) local and three (3) introduced varieties were studied for their nutrient content and oil composition to provide information on their nutritional value and oil quality for a holistic development and valorisation of the crop in Togo. Results revealed that water, ash, lipid, protein, total sugar, fiber, vitamin C, energy, total phenol and tannin contents ranged from 5.08% to 6.30%; 3.94-5.40%; 36.69-45.62%; 19.52-25.37; 11.10-19.16; 3.84-7.01%; 1.10-1.94%; 660-953.3Kcal/ 100g; 0.0020-7-0.006% and 0.005-0.017%. The oils extracted from these different varieties had saponification and acid indices that ranged respectively from 179.95 to 190.54 and from 4.47 to 8.96. In terms of fatty acid composition, oleic acid and linoleic acid ranged from 37.92% to 42.24% and 36.1-39.8% respectively, while palmitic acid ranged from 6.82% to 12.41% and stearic acid from 5.51% to 7.83%. The results enabled us to identify the sesame grains of local varieties G3 and G3B as being suitable for enriching infant flours or for remedying the problems of protein and energy deficiency in Togo. Further, the oils extracted from these varieties are of good quality and can therefore be used in industry and for food purposes. All rights reserved, Elsevier.
