Sea Cucumber Products Research Articles

Study of the Game Model of E-Commerce Information Sharing in an Agricultural Product Supply Chain based on fuzzy big data and LSGDM

Information asymmetry is the root of agricultural product quality problems. Generally speaking, the common problems related to agricultural products are solved by effective supply chain management. From the perspective of agricultural supply chain management, this paper analyzes the shortcomings of the traditional supply chain management process by using fuzzy big data and LSGDM (Large scale group decision making), and puts forward a new method of supply chain management. In addition, from the perspective of asymmetric information sharing regarding agricultural products, an asymmetric information sharing model for agricultural products based on the evolutionary rule theory is established. Combined with fuzzy big data and LSGDM, this paper puts forward the hypothesis of each variable in the process of the information sharing game. On this basis, a mathematical model of the "pool equilibrium" of the high and low prices in the agricultural products market is put forward. Finally, a case study of products of different quality in the sea cucumber market is carried out. The results show that high quality sea cucumber products occupy a large market share in the supply chain of agricultural products. The research of this paper is of great significance, because it can increase the reliable theoretical data available for the research of the agricultural supply chain.

Ranching of sea cucumber in Indonesia : A study case of Holothuria atra

Sea ranching is one of the promising sustainable ways to restore depleted stocks and increase production of sea cucumber. Before, only high price species were exploited but now the demand is extended to many other low-value species, such as Teripang Hitam, H. atra. The present work were aimed to observed the growth and survival of H. atra ranching using pen system. Sea pens system size of 5meter x 5meter x 1.8meter was set up in Teluk Awur Waters, Jepara, Indonesia. They were designed as mesocosms that mimic sea ranching location. Wild young H. atra (average weight of 100 g) from Panjang Island, located adjacent to Teluk Awur waters were stocked at 3 individu.m−2, reared for five months without food addition. Sea cucumber was weighed and counted monthly to determine their growth and survival rate. The results of present experiment revealed that sea cucumber increased their weight with the time of rearing, the average weight gain and survival rates were 212 g and 83% respectively. It showed that their adaptation to the new environment was went well. The sea cucumber got intake of food that naturally grew in the sea pens or transported by the sea current from surrounding area. This result showed promising application on sea ranching for marine natural conservation.

Authentication of sea cucumber products using NGS-based DNA mini-barcoding

Sea cucumbers are widely consumed in Asia. This study developed a novel DNA mini-barcode mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COI) of 257 bp to discriminate sea cucumbers species in both raw and processed forms. We designed and compared four mini-barcoding primer sets based on PCR amplification rates against 40 authenticated sea cucumber species. The top-performing primer set was successful for most tested sea cucumber varieties. We also tested the DNA mini-barcode COI in 12 highly processed sea cucumber products using both Sanger sequencing and next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS). This is the first report of highly processed sea cucumber products that detected fraudulent replacement of sea cucumber by one or a blend of species using the NGS approach. The established DNA mini-barcoding system revealed that 83.33% (10/12) of highly processed sea cucumber products were mislabeled. This study identified a need for more regulation of the sea cucumber trade and suggested that DNA mini-barcoding combined with NGS could complement existing sea cucumber identification strategies.

Effects of Bacillus spp. on growth, gut microbiota compositions and immunity of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus )

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Bacillus licheniformis CQN-12, B. amyloliquefaciens CQN-2, and B. subtilis CQN-39 originally isolated from the gut of a healthy sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus), on the growth performance, gut microbiota and immune response of sea cucumbers (A. japonicus). Sea cucumbers were fed a commercial pellet feed supplemented with B. licheniformis CQN-12, B. amyloliquefaciens CQN-2 or B. subtilis CQN-39 at different concentrations (0 (control), 107 and 109 CFU/g respectively), for 60 days. Our results revealed that that dietary B. licheniformis CQN-12 and B. amyloliquefaciens CQN-2 (107 CFU/g optimal concentration) enhanced growth performance, up-regulated innate immunity and altered microbial colonization in the gut of sea cucumbers whereas dietary B. subtilis CQN-39 had no significant effect. Furthermore, diets supplemented with an optimal concentration of B. licheniformis CQN-12 and B. amyloliquefaciens CQN-2 stimulated the mRNA expression of superoxide dismutase, lysozyme, and catalase. In conclusion, our study suggests that B. licheniformis CQN-12 and B. amyloliquefaciens CQN-2 could be used in feed supplements for healthier production of sea cucumbers in artificial farms.

Identification of Priority Sites to Support Management of Commercially Important Sea Cucumber Species by Applying Infomap and Habitat Filters to Larval Dispersal Data

Stocks of commercially valuable sea cucumber species have declined in most tropical countries, which supply majority of the global demand. This work aimed to locate priority sites for the management ofHolothuria scabraandStichopus horrensin the western central Philippines. A passive larval dispersal model was run under four monsoonal regimes (Northeast monsoon, dry-transition, Southwest monsoon, and early Northeast monsoon), and the results subjected to theInfomapnetwork detection algorithm. Three clusters of closely related geographical nodes were identified [southeastern Palawan (Group I), western Panay and eastern Mindoro (Group II), and northern and western Palawan with western Mindoro (Group III)]. Remotely sensed habitat data were used to parameterize the degree of connectivity observed among sites (H. scabraspawning and settlement requires the presence of seagrass and mangrove, whileS. horrensrequires corals and seagrass). Local retention, self-recruitment, settlement success and sink diversity were then calculated for each node with suitable habitat. The locations were ranked according to each metric and those with higher larval export rates, a higher diversity of larval sources and a high degree of successful larval contribution to other sites were deemed crucial for the management of wild populations. Sixteen high-priority sites were identified, distributed mainly along northern Palawan and western Panay. Six sites were common for both species at different seasons, and no single location fulfilled all stated criteria across the four seasons and both sea cucumber species considered. The priority sites for management could serve as broodstock selection and juvenile restocking areas for aquaculture production clusters, which when properly implemented, could lead to an increase in sea cucumber production and contribute to natural populations. On a broader scale, the designation of closely related clusters and incorporation of habitat requirements to dispersal data provided critical input for the delineation of ecologically meaningful management units for sea cucumbers within the region.

Image processing for evaluation of papilla clearness of dried sea cucumber products

Image processing for evaluation of papilla clearness of dried sea cucumber products

Status, Prospects and Market Potentials of the Sea Cucumber Fisheries with Special Reference on Their Proper Utilization and Trade

Sea cucumbers belonging to the phylum Echinodermata are important marine invertebrates, generally occur in the sandy substrates and rocky shores near the bottom of sea. This review work has been attempted to make an interlink between biological and socio-economical perspectives of sea cucumber because of the high demand in the present world. The outer body part of sea cucumber (bêche-de-mer) has been recognized for producing secondary metabolites including vitamins and triterpenoid glycoside saponins that have profound ecological and bio-medicinal significance. Sea cucumbers are also used to remove arthritis pain, exert wound healing, and nowadays, are utilized in human health therapeutics and Asian folk medicine. Due to higher pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical values, sea cucumber has become one of the most essential products, and fetched higher market prices and therefore, provide a significant earning source and employment opportunity to the coastal communities in many countries. The sea cucumber and its product have been considered to be the excellent bioresource in the invertebrate fishery, whose harvestings, transporting, handlings, processing and maintenance are easy, convenient and cost-effective. Historically, bêche-de-mer were harvested from the multi-species capture fishery and stored for long times for selling to the businessmen and traders directly on the site. As like other lucrative and expensive food items viz., fish-maws, shark-fins and abalones, sea cucumbers are taken into the account as the high-valued products in the world seafood markets. Nevertheless, bêche-de-mer product supply in the South-East Asian countries has been decreasing day by day because of unstrained harvesting and overexploitation. On the other hand, the marketing structure in these countries is typically ineffective and the trading networks are multifaceted. Due to the lack of proper information, fishermen are not usually getting proper values and actual prices from the sea cucumber products, whereas other distributors and value-chain members have made complex systems, which have led to high cost of the products. The sea cucumber products will still have higher possibility of trading throughout the world markets, that might eventually contribute to the global economy in a very worthwhile, significant and sustainable manner.

Powder production of sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra): effect of processing methods on the antioxidant activities and physico-chemical characteristics

Sea cucumber is a fishery commodity in Southeast Sulawesi that has high economic value and has long been used as traditional natural medicine. One of the active ingredients contained in sea cucumbers is antioxidants. The purpose of this study was to characterize the antioxidant activity of sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra), which were processed into powder with various processing methods. The processing methods used were smoking, steaming and microwaving. The powder were then measured its antioxidant activity using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. Other characteristics tested were their chemical content and morphological properties with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The results showed that the sea cucumber powder production with the microwaving method produced a powder that had stronger antioxidant properties compared to smoking and steaming methods. The sea cucumber powder produced with microwave method had a higher protein content, and its morphological appearance indicated more physical damage. The method of sea cucumber powder preparation with microwave appeared to be likely more efficient in time and would have a better nutritional value.

Prospects of fibrinolytic proteases of bacteria from sea cucumber fermentation products as antithrombotic agent

Cardiovascular disease is among the largest contributors of premature mortality in the world caused by inflammation of blood vessels. The abnormalities provoke thrombus formation or thrombosis blocking blood vessels leading to strokes, heart attacks and coronary artery diseases. Increasing percentage of cardiovascular cases and deaths due to thrombosis has attracted researchers to look for newer thrombolysis agents. Commonly used drugs to treat thrombosis has been limited due to various side effects. Therefore, the search for sources of safer and cheaper fibrinolytic enzymes for handling thrombolysis continues. This study aimed to evaluate potentials of fibrinolytic protease of bacteria isolated from fermented seafood (sea cucumber) products as antithrombotic agents. Information was initially gathered from scientific publications identified using web-based tools including PubMed (National Center for Biotechnology Information), Science Direct (Scopus) and Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) using combinations of search terms including “fibrinolytic enzyme protease”, “endopeptidase”, “fermented food”, “sea cucumber”, “thrombolysis therapy,” “thrombolytic agent,” “fibrinolytic bacteria,” “fibrinolysis,” “protease producing bacteria,” “fibrin degradation,” “holothurians,” etc. We also searched for these terms in national and international organization technical reports and databases. This literature review reveals the prospects of fibrinolytic protease enzymes from bacteria from fermented seafood, particularly sea cucumber as novel antithrombotic agents.

Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra): Assessing bioremediation and life-cycle impacts

Environmental sustainability of aquaculture is a complex issue involving effects at local (e.g. benthic deterioration), regional (e.g. eutrophication) and global (e.g. catches for feed production) scales as a consequence of farming operations (e.g. waste emissions) and industrial processes involved in the product value chain. Integrating these effects using a holistic and multi-scale framework is essential to assess the environmental sustainability of innovative production systems such as Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), in which organisms of different trophic levels are co-cultured on the same farm to minimize aquaculture waste. The environmental performances of theoretical production scenarios of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) sea cage monoculture and an open-water IMTA co-culturing of red drum and sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) were assessed with mathematical models at local and global scales. First, the particulate waste bioremediation potential of sea cucumber production was estimated using an individual-based bioenergetic model. Second, environmental impacts of the monoculture and the IMTA systems were estimated and compared using life cycle assessment (LCA), calculated per kg of edible protein and t of product, including uncertainty analysis. Given the current limits to stocking density observed for sea cucumbers, its co-culture in sea cages suspended beneath finfish nets may decrease slightly (by 0.73%) farm net particulate waste load and benthic impact. The monoculture and IMTA showed little difference in impact because of the large difference in production scales of finfish and sea cucumber species. Removing 100% of finfish feces particulate waste requires cultivating sea cucumber at scale similar to that of finfish (1.3 kg of sea cucumber per kg of finfish). Nonetheless, LCA showed trends in IMTA performance: lower eutrophication impact and net primary production use but higher cumulative energy demand and climate change impacts, generating an impact transfer between categories. Intensification of sea cucumber culture could increase local and global environmental benefits, but further research is necessary to design rearing units that can optimize production and/or bioremediation and that can be practically integrated into existing finfish monoculture units. The methodology defined here can be a powerful tool to predict the magnitude of environmental benefits that can be expected from new and complex production systems and to show potential impact transfer between spatial scales. We recommend applying it to other IMTA systems and species associations and including socio-economic criteria to fully assess the sustainability of future seafood production systems.

Quality evaluation of indoor‐ and outdoor‐cultured sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus ) seedlings: Insight from survival and immune performance in response to combined stress of hyperthermia and hyposalinity

The mass mortalities of sea cucumber Apostichpous japonicus have prevailed in northern China, mainly attributing to the emergence of extreme environmental conditions, that is hyperthermia and hyposalinity. The high-quality sea cucumber seedlings appear to possess more robust resistance to adverse conditions. There are usually indoor- and outdoor-cultured seedlings in industrial production of sea cucumbers. Although the outdoor-cultured sea cucumbers are practically considered to be more strong and robust, the effective evaluation approach to distinguish these seedlings has been scarce. The current study compared survival and immune performances of indoor- and outdoor-cultured A. japonicus under combined exogenous stressors, that is hyperthermia and hyposalinity. Results based on secondary stress induction revealed that the activities of immune enzymes and levels of catecholamines in body wall of outdoor-cultured seedlings were prominently higher than those of indoor-cultured seedlings recovered for 0–72 hr following sublethal stress (30°C and 25 psu of salinity). The opposite case occurred on immune enzymes in coelomic fluid of the two sources of seedlings except for myeloperoxidase. Importantly, the outdoor-cultured seedlings, which were recovered for 72 hr after sublethal stress, exhibited a 93% of cumulative survival rate following 7 days of recovery after lethal stress (33°C and 20 psu of salinity), 27% higher than the indoor-cultured seedlings. Collectively, the outdoor-cultured A. japonicus seedlings showed more superior quality than the hatchery-produced seedlings in terms of survival and immune performance. These findings provide practically useful information towards quality distinction of the indoor- and outdoor-cultured sea cucumbers, which could benefit the aquaculture industry to obtain high-quality seedlings.

Effects of shading on periphyton characteristics and performance of sandfish, Holothuria scabra Jaeger 1833, juveniles

Mass production of sea cucumber (sandfish; Holothuria scabra) juveniles is carried out in periphyton-based ocean nursery systems. However, detailed studies on the importance of periphyton as a food source for post-settled juveniles, and on factors influencing biofilm development and composition are scarce. Such information is critical in the optimization of both culture systems and husbandry procedures, and to improve production of juveniles. In this study, the effects of relative food abundance and shading on the feeding activity of the juveniles (~5 mm) under laboratory conditions were determined. The effects of shading (ambient vs. shaded) on periphyton development, and on the growth performance of post-settled juveniles, were also determined in a 30-day field experiment. Food consumption in the ‘high’ food and ambient light treatment was significantly higher (2.4 ± 0.1 mg day−1) than that of juveniles reared in other treatments, including ‘low’ food and shaded culture vessels. Juveniles reared in low food conditions covered significantly greater areas when feeding (2.3 ± 0.28 cm2 day−1) than juveniles reared in high food conditions (0.41 ± 0.20 cm2 day−1). Average length and absolute growth rate (AGR) of juveniles in the shaded treatment were significantly higher by day 15, but differences between light treatments were not significant by day 30. Interestingly, juvenile survival was significantly higher in the shaded (56.9 ± 20.7%) treatment compared to the ambient light (34.4 ± 22.9%) treatment. The chlorophyll a content of periphyton was significantly higher by day 30 than at day 5 in both treatments. Total periphyton biomass (AFDW) was higher in the ambient light treatment than in the shaded treatment, but both generally decreased overtime. Results suggest that food quality is better during the early colonization of periphyton as indicated by the higher absolute growth rates of juveniles during the first 15 days of the experiment. This study generated new information on factors influencing the success of hapa net-based nursery culture of sandfish juveniles and provides a basis for improved use and management of such systems.

Species identification of processed sea cucumbers from Malaysian market based on concatenated gene sequences of mitochondrial rRNA genes

Species identification of sea cucumbers that have undergone body deformation due to extensive food processing, e.g., beche-de-mer, is difficult, especially with the copresence of cases of unlabelled or mislabelled sea cucumber-based products on the market. Therefore, a study was done to determine the species identities of processed sea cucumbers from selected Malaysian markets using concatenated gene sequences of non-protein-coding 12S and 16S mitochondrial rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analyses, based on the distance-based Neighbor Joining method and character-based methods, i.e., the Maximum Parsimony method, Maximum Likelihood method, and the Bayesian Analysis method, of 47 ingroup sequences, representing 37 processed sea cucumber specimens, 6 reference samples, and 4 additional specimens, suggested the presence of 3 main clusters, i.e., gamat family, consisting of genus Stichopus and genus Thelenota; and timun laut family, comprising family Holothuriidae. A number of 3 gamat species, i.e., Stichopus horrens, Stichopus vastus, and Thelenota anax, were recorded. Meanwhile, the specimens of Holothuria (Halodeima) atra, Holo-thuria (Halodeima) edulis, Holothuria (Metriatyla) lessoni, Holothuria (Merten-siothuria) leucospilota, and Holothuria (Metriatyla) scabra were the 5 timun laut species that are grouped under the family Holothuriidae. The outcomes of this study can be utilised by enforcement agencies to monitor and overcome the issues of species substitution and product mislabelling of processed sea cucumber products in Malaysian markets.

Effects of processing method on chemical compositions and nutritional quality of ready-to-eat sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus).

The effect of commercial processing methods on the nutritional value of ready‐to‐eat (RTE) sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas was examined in this study. RTE sea cucumber products named RTE‐T and RTE‐V were prepared by two commercial methods, traditional processing, and vacuum cooking, respectively. Proximate, polysaccharide and mineral element composition, amino acid profiles, and true retention values of RTE sea cucumber products were evaluated and compared. Both commercial processing methods significantly changed the nutrient composition in RTE products, except that of Zn and Cu. Comparison of true retention values among RTE products showed that novel commercial method of vacuum cooking resulted in lower nutrient loss and had a shorter processing time than traditional processing. However, soaking after vacuum cooking significantly increased the nutrient loss of RTE sea cucumber. Therefore, vacuum cooking without soaking may be a promising alternative for producing RTE sea cucumber products with high nutritional quality.

Life cycle assessment of sea cucumber production: A case study, China

Environmental pollution caused by aquaculture production has become an increasing problem in China. In the present study, life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate and analyze the environmental impact of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicas) production in Dalian as an example for Chinese aquaculture cleaner production (CP) research. The production process included three stages: feeding, farming, and processing. In addition, to analyze the key factors that influence the environmental performance, the feeding stage was divided into breeding and culturing phases; the farming stage was divided into planting and harvesting phases; and the processing stage comprised sorting, stewing, salting, and freezing phases. The popular LCA software tool GaBi and the CML-2001 method for a problem-oriented approach to LCA were used to calculate the environmental impact at each stage and phase of the sea cucumber production process. The results showed that the normalization results of LCA in the three stages were 1.21 E−08 yr, 2.44 E−10 yr, and 1.11 E−09 yr, respectively. The feeding stage had the greatest environmental impact, because high levels of electricity, fossil fuel, and water are required to maintain the culturing water temperature and oxygen status for juvenile sea cucumbers. Moreover, from the analysis of the LCA normalization results in each phase, we found that the marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential (MAETP) was the largest contributor to the environmental impact, with electricity use, water requirements, and fossil fuel consumption as the key factors that affected the results. Improvement measures toward CP in each stage were proposed, such as energy substitution (nuclear energy, natural gas, or solar-energy), water reduction (microecologics), and bio-waste management (bio-waste recycling). These measures will provide a reference for policy makers and enterprise managers to enact strategies to improve the sustainability of Chinese aquaculture.

Influence of Nitzschia sp. on release of nitrogen and phosphorus from sediment in pond breeding sea cucumbers

Due to the tonic and nutritive virtues of sea cucumbers, increased commercial aquaculture has resulted in the expansion of breeding ponds, a primary form of sea cucumber production. Expansion of such production methods has led to increased settling of organic wastes onto the seabed, resulting in enriched sediments. Nitzschia sp. serves as an edible sea cucumber feed. Release characteristics of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from sediments in the presence of different biomass densities of Nitzschia sp. were studied via laboratory static cultures. pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) in the overlying water and biochemical components (i.e., protein, chlorophyll a) of Nitzschia sp. were assessed. When the biomass of Nitzschia sp. was more than (2–5) × 104 ind/cm2, the release of N and P nutrients was significantly promoted; additionally, the DO content of the overlying water was relatively high and the pH was relatively stable, which favoured the accumulation of proteins and chlorophyll a in Nitzschia sp. The results indicated that Nitzschia sp. promotes the release of N and P in sediments while absorbing them to maintain their own growth and promote the accumulation of nutrients, such as proteins, for the sea cucumbers. At the same time, the algae release oxygen, increasing the DO of the overlying water, providing a healthy breeding environment for the sea cucumbers. Application of Nitzschia sp. has the potential to reduce environmental harm caused by sea cucumber cultivation and thus achieve sustainable aquaculture.

Discrimination of dried sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) products from different geographical origins by sequential windowed acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion mass spectra (SWATH-MS)-based proteomic analysis and chemometrics

The article reports on discrimination of dried sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (A. japonicus) products from different geographical regions in China (Xiapu, Jiaonan, Weihai, Yantai, Dalian). For this purpose, sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion mass spectra (SWATH-MS)-based proteomic analysis combined with chemometrics was evaluated. Proteome variations of A. japonicus samples determined by SWATH-MS using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometer were mined by chemometric tools to clarify the correlation between protein quantitation data and geographical origin. A differentiating OPLS-DA model was constructed with 55 SWATH-MS quantified proteins. A. japonicus samples from five locations were clearly classified by the developed OPLS-DA model and 100% prediction accuracy was achieved in validation testing as well as real-life sample analysis. Seventeen proteins were identified as discriminatory biomarkers allowing geographical provenance. The proposed method might be applied in origin authentication of commercially dried A. japonicus products.

STUDI PEMBUATAN TEPUNG TERIPANG DARI BAHAN BAKU TERIPANG PASIR (HOLOTHURIA SCABRA) DENGAN PERLAKUAN PERBEDAAN KONSENTRASI GARAM DAN PERBEDAAN LAMA PEREBUSAN

Sea cucumbers have the prospect of being one of the most nutritious food sources because it has a complete nutritional content, including carbohydrates, some types of fatty acids and amino acids, some components of vitamins, sterols and some types of minerals. High nutritional content makes sea cucumber has potential as a food source of high grow factor. In addition, the content owned by sea cucumbers are also believed to function as antioxidants, antibacteria, antifungi, and anticoagulants. In Indonesia, sea cucumbers are still not widely used as food. This research studied how the effect of salt and boiling on the quality of content and physical acceptance of sea cucumber flour by the community. The production of sea cucumber by boiling and salting method is based on the habit of the people who boil or salt the sea cucumber at the time after the sea cucumber is captured. The salt concentration given in this study was 10%, 15% and 20%. While the temperatur treatment done by boiling sea cucumber for 10 minutes, 20 minutes and 30 minutes with a temperature of 70oC. The results obtained from this study showed that the nutrient content of sea cucumbers in boiling group has an average value of water content of 18.20%, ash content 19.61%, protein 51.17%, fat 3.76% and carbohydrates 7.27%. While the nutritional content of sea cucumber in salting group has an average value of water content 14.01%, ash 14.49%, 57.24%, fat 4.09% and carbohydrates 10.17%. The result of variance analysis showed that the sea cucumber produced from the boiling group and salting group did not significantly affect the nutrient content and the organoleptic parameters of sea cucumber. The conclusion obtained that the manufacture of sea cucumber either with the treatment of boiling or salting classified as having a fairly high nutritional content. So it is very potential to be developed more broadly on nutrient-rich food products.

Evaluation of Processing Methods on the Nutritional Quality of Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus Selenka)

ABSTRACTThe close relationship between the consumption of sea cucumber and health status stems from the nutritional and functional substances found in sea cucumber that play a key role in the prevention of different diseases. The processing methods have a great effect upon the nutritional and functional substances in sea cucumber. A superior product should not only be abundant in nutritional substances, but also require an easy and cost effective processing method. This study compared the influence of processing methods on the stability of macronutrients and micronutrients present in sea cucumber in order to recommend products that could provide high nutritional quality. The five processes investigated were hot air drying (60°C), vacuum freeze-drying (0.5 cm thickness material, 5–10 Pa vacuum degree, −85 to −90°C cold trap temperature, −25°C material temperature), sun drying, double-distilled water cooking followed by sun drying, and 3.5% sodium chloride solution cooking followed by sun drying. A significant decrease of all the chemical compositions determined was shown in all the sea cucumber products treated by the five processing methods (p < 0.05). Among all the processing methods, hot air drying resulted in the highest nutritional quality of the product. Moreover, hot air drying can be operated easily with low cost.

Compositional analysis of sulfated polysaccharides from sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) released by autolysis reaction

Autolysis is not only a major reason for postharvest quality deterioration of sea cucumber, but also a promising alternative for exogenous protease to produce peptides or polysaccharides. However, little has been known about the effects of autolysis on bioactive polysaccharides of sea cucumber. Concerning the quality and safety of sea cucumber products involved autolysis reaction, the present study focused on the chemical composition of sulfated polysaccharides (SPs) released by autolysis reaction. Chemical analysis indicated that after 3-day autolysis 63% of sulfated polysaccharides were liberated but with protein chains at their reducing ends. Then the composition of SP obtained by autolysis (A-SP) was compared with that of total SPs (T-SP) via a series of analysis techniques, including FTIR, 1H NMR, HPLC and mass spectroscopy. As indicated by the results, fucan to fucosylated chondroitin sulfate ratio was found high in A-SP compared to T-SP, fucan with a lower molecular weight was the major fraction in A-SP, and the di-sulfated Fuc residue observed in T-SP was absent in A-SP. To conclude, A-SP differed greatly from T-SP in the chemical composition, suggesting possible changes on their bioactivities.