Abstract
Functional food that contains biologically-active compounds is an important source for prevention, management and treatment of chronic diseases in the modern age. The present work showed the quality of some Egyptian sea cucumbers to encourage Egyptian natives using them as an alternative food. The present work investigated the morphometric parameters, the proximate chemical composition, the amino acids and fatty acid profiles of Actinopyga mauritiana, Holothuria scarba, Bohadschia marmorata and Holothuria leucospilota. The results showed that Actinopyga mauritiana had the highest length, width, weight, and body wall thickness. All the investigated sea cucumbers had high content of protein (43.23 to 48.27%), carbohydrates (44.62 to 48.56%) and very low content of fats (4.6 to 5.66%). Among the investigated specimens A. mauritiana showed the highest percentage of total protein (48.27%), Holothuria leucospilota showed the lowest level of total lipids (4.6%), while Holothuria scarba showed the highest percentage of carbohydrates (48.65%). Glycine was the most abundant amino acids in all studied sea cucumbers (18.38 to 19.172 g/100 g) and constituted 37 to 39% of the total amino acids. Lycine: argignin ratio was low in H. scarba, H. leucospilota and B. marmorata (0.410, 0.428 and 0.9, respectively) while was higher in A. mauritiana (3.56). Myristic acid was the most abundant saturated fatty acid (SFA) in all studied sea cucumbers (19.789 to 37.036 %) followed by palmitic acid (16.93 to 16.926%). Among the unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) oleic and linoelaidic acids were the most abundant acids in all investigated cucumbers. On the other side linoleic acid (omega 6) was abundant in H. scarba and constituted 26% of the UFA. In conclusion, all investigated sea cucumbers had high protein and low fat contents and the bioactive compounds in the sea cucumbers describe its efficacy in tissue regeneration and inflammatory diseases. Key words: Egyptian sea cucumbers, nutritional values, protein, inflammatory disease.
Highlights
Sea cucumbers are marine animals which belong to Phylum echinodermata used in fresh or dried form in various cuisines
Among the investigated specimens A. mauritiana showed the highest percentage of total protein (48.27%), Holothuria leucospilota showed the lowest level of total lipids (4.6%), while Holothuria scarba showed the highest percentage of carbohydrates (48.65%)
Carbohydrates were much higher in sea cucumber than in tilapia (6.85%), cat fish (3.85%) and electric fish (Malapterurus electricus, 8.86%) (Adeniyi et al, 2012)
Summary
Sea cucumbers are marine animals which belong to Phylum echinodermata used in fresh or dried form in various cuisines. The ability of the body wall of sea cucumber to regenerate after being cut up reinforced the people's confidence to its use in the traditional medicine. It is used for wound healing especially after clinical surgery and caesarian operation (Fredalina et al, 1999). Nigrelli and Zahl (1952) and Yamonouchi (1955) revealed that sea cucumbers contain a biological active compound called Holothurin or saponins (triterpene glycosides). The present work aims to highlight the nutritional value of some local Egyptian sea cucumber inhabiting the red sea shore in order to evaluate their quality and their economic importance
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