Testing the Toxicity, Protein Content, and Anticholesterol of the Ethanol Extract of the Sea Urchin (Diadema Setosum) Gonad as Marine Biodiversity-Based Medicinal Ingredients

Abstract

Indonesia has various marine resources that can be used, one of which is a sea urchin (Diadema setosum), which can be used as pharmacology and food sources by using their gonad. This study aims to test the toxicity, protein content, and antioxidant activity of the ethanol extract of the sea urchin gonad. The sample tests consisted of several stages, namely: maceration performed the extraction using 96% ethanol solvent; the toxicity test used the Brine Shrimp Lethality Test method with Artemia salina Leach as the bioindicator; the protein content test used the Lowry method; anticholesterol activity test was done with ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis) method. The results showed that the ethanol extract of the sea urchin gonad had no toxic activity because the IC50 value was more than 1000 ppm, which was 1318.8639 ppm. The protein content of the ethanol extract of the sea urchin gonad was 0.0257% and had no anticholesterol potential with a value of 0.0002%. This research can be performed by conducting tests to determine aspects of reproductive biology and the anti-inflammatory effects of Diadema setosum.