Occurrence and patterns of nutritional traits and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sea cucumber (Holothuria polii) tissues: benefits and risk for human health

Abstract

Abstract Objectives The paper evaluates the benefit and risk for human health associated with consumption of sea cucumber Holothuria polii (H. polii) from Italian coasts (Central Mediterranean Sea). Materials and Methods Body wall (BW), internal tunic (ITu), muscle bands (MBs), alimentary canal (AC), gonad (Gd), and respiratory tree (RT) of H. polii were analyzed for proximate composition. Moreover, amino acids (AAs), fatty acids (FAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UPLC UV/Vis), gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively. Results Differences in the contents of total amino acids (TAAs) occurred based on tissue and sex, with AC and MB of female and Gd of male showing higher contents (range 47.8–60.2 g/kg we weight (ww)). Glycine and glutamic acid were the most abundant. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) was the major class of FAs and arachidonic acid and eicosapentenoic acid (EPA) were the predominant PUFA. n-3 PUFA showed higher content in Gd, AC, and RT, indicating higher quality. A favorable n-3/n-6 in the range of 1.04–1.67 was observed. PAHs showed values ranging from 23 to 207 µg/kg ww with the highest levels in Gd and AC tissues and the lower in BW. Benzo[a]pyrene, the most toxic compound, was detected in all tissues, of both sexes, at levels of 1.5–18 µg/kg ww. Conclusion All tissues of H. polii, although with differences among them, are valuable food and can contribute for a healthy diet. Excess cancer risk (CR) values for Gd and AC tissues were above the considerable CR threshold of one in 10 000 established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for high ingestion rate of this seafood.