Sea Cucumber: New source of Protein for Human Consumption

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Sea Cucumber: New source of Protein for Human Consumption Daniela V. Pratas1*, Filipa P. Santos1, Teresa Baptista1 and Ana Violante Pombo1 1 GIRM , Marine Resources Research Group, IPL, Portugal Aquaculture, probably the fastest growing food-producing sector, now accounts for nearly 50 percent of the world's food fish consumed by humans, and this share is expected to increase further to meet future demand. Sea cucumbers are considered highly marketable product and this has resulted in an increasing overfishing of natural sea cucumber stocks. Nevertheless, these resources are almost unexploited in the Mediterranean region. Many species of holothurians have been recognized as an alternative source of first quality protein and considered a putative functional food, like hypocholesterolemic proprieties and contain many other bioactive compounds. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine and compare the protein content of two sea cucumber species, Holothuria forskali and Stichopus regalis. The Kjeldahl method was used to determine the crude protein through the measurement of nitrogen amount in each sample. The obtained results demonstrated that both species contain high protein levels, with higher results for S. regalis, which revealed values between 19,1% and 20,4%. H. forskali showed a protein level among 12,1% and 15,4%. Holothurian protein levels reveal great potential for human consumption. Those resources can be used as a partial substitute of fish meal (eg. sea bream nutrition), either to intern market as well as for exportation to Asian countries. Sea cucumber farming could have lucrative potential in the Mediterranean, converting sea cucumbers into aquaculture value-added products bringing to this region profitable economic benefits. Keywords: holothurian, sea cucumber, protein, Aquaculture, Mediterranean Conference: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014, Peniche, Portugal, 10 Jul - 11 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: AQUACULTURE Citation: Pratas DV, Santos FP, Baptista T and Violante Pombo A (2014). Sea Cucumber: New source of Protein for Human Consumption. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2014.02.00124 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 25 Apr 2014; Published Online: 18 Jul 2014. * Correspondence: Dr. Daniela V Pratas, GIRM , Marine Resources Research Group, IPL, Peniche, Portugal, 4130347@my.ipleiria.pt Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Daniela V Pratas Filipa P Santos Teresa Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Google Daniela V Pratas Filipa P Santos Teresa Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Google Scholar Daniela V Pratas Filipa P Santos Teresa Baptista Ana Violante Pombo PubMed Daniela V Pratas Filipa P Santos Teresa Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.