The sesame plant — called benne by the Gullah Geechee people of the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands — produces edible fresh leaves as well as the iconic seed. The leaves were consumed as a pot green in West African tradition and maintain that tradition in surviving Gullah foodways. Benne plant knowledge is one of the most intact pieces of West African botanical intelligence in Black American culture.
The Gullah Geechee community's benne (sesame) cultivation tradition is among the best-documented African agricultural survivals in America. Growing benne in a Sea Island garden means having the leaf available as food — still practiced knowledge in Beaufort County, SC and the surrounding islands.
Sesame plant leaves contain sesamin and sesamolin — lignans that serve as phytoestrogen precursors modulating estrogen receptor signaling in ways relevant to fibroid and breast cancer risk reduction. A 2017 Nutrients paper found sesamin supplementation reduced systolic blood pressure by 3.5 mmHg and diastolic by 2.1 mmHg over 4 weeks through antioxidant-mediated nitric oxide preservation. Sesamol — the principal phenolic in sesame — inhibits NF-kB and iNOS, suppressing the inflammatory cascade central to both hypertension and the accelerated vascular aging documented by the Weathering Hypothesis in Black Americans. The leaves provide iron, calcium, and vitamin A precursors — a modest but meaningful nutritional contribution from a plant whose seed already receives significant attention.
Harvest young tender leaves before flowering — older leaves become tough. Cook like spinach: sauté with oil, garlic, and onion for 5-10 minutes until wilted. Can be added to soups and stews. In West Africa, the fresh leaves are sometimes pounded into sauces.
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