A small team of marine scientists and chemists at the University of the Philippines, The Marine Science Institute, has discovered that a local species of sea cucumber may have biomedical applications. In their study, which was reported in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, the group conducted a metabolomic study of Stichopus cf. horrens, a species of sea cucumber found off the coast of the Philippines.
The researchers obtained several samples of the cucumbers and conducted a metabolomic analysis—a process that involves chemical and biological analysis with the goal of identifying compounds that can be used as either a food source or a medical therapy.
They found that the sea cucumbers contained an abundance of bioactive compounds in the material that makes up the walls covering its body and also in several of its internal organs.
Among the types of compounds they discovered were phosphatidylcholines, which are commonly found in various foods such as soybeans, eggs, sunflowers, and mustard. Some studies have suggested that these compounds can provide relief for pain associated with ulcerative colitis, as they tend to reduce inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract when ingested.
The research team also found several phosphatidylethanolamines, which they believe are likely linked to a stress response by the sea cucumbers when faced with a threat, such as humans harvesting them from the sea floor. They suggest that further study of the sea cucumbers could uncover useful compounds and shed light on how these compounds are affected by processing methods.
2023-12-09 16:00:03
Original from phys.org rnrn