Evaluation of Total Antioxidant Activity and Total Phenolic Content of Different Tahini (Sesame Paste) Brands in Iran’s Market

Background and Objectives: Tahini (sesame paste) is a condiment made from sesame seeds. Given the possible high antioxidant activity and polyphenol content of sesame seeds, we aimed to measure the total antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of different tahini brands in Iran’s market. Methods: In this study, 111 tahini samples from 37 commercial brands (three samples from each brand) were purchased from the Iran’s market. The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) method was used to measure the total antioxidant activity in each sample. Total phenolic content was measured by the Folin–Ciocalteu method. Results: The results showed that Mino-dates (119.93 ± 0.159 μmol/mL), Trang-Chocolate (56.30 ± 0.056 μmol/mL), Barsam-coffee (45.13 ± 0.094 μmol/mL) and Chocolate-barsam (53.23 ± 0.112 μmol/mL) had significantly higher antioxidant activity compared to other brands (p 0.001). Moreover, Mino-dates (2057.33 ± 0.094 μmol/mL), Barsam-coffee (805.51 ± 0.041 μmol/mL), Chocolate-barsam (807.42 ± 0.095 μmol/mL) and Trang-Chocolate (685.75 ± 0.086 μmol/mL) contained higher level of phenolic compounds compared to other brands (p 0.001). Conclusion: This study is among the first to assess total antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of different tahini brands in Iran. Our results indicate that tahini brands with a higher phenolic content also have higher antioxidant activity. It can be concluded that tahini may be used as rich source of antioxidant compounds in people s routine diet.