Sea cucumber
LATIN NAME: HOLOTHUROIDEA
COMMON NAME: Sea Cucumber, Hai Shen, Beche-de-mer
The sea cucumber is one of the most unusual and valuable of the creatures of the sea floor, and its soft, elongated body and its slow, crawling life have made it a food and a traditional material across the shores of the warm oceans of the world. It grows as a soft-bodied, elongated echinoderm, related to the starfish and the sea urchins, reaching up to thirty centimetres or more, with a leathery, muscular body, a ring of tentacles around the mouth at one end and the simple opening at the other, while it crawls slowly across the sandy and the muddy sea floor, feeding on the detritus and the tiny organic matter. It is a creature of the shallow and the deep seas, found across the warm and the temperate oceans, while it has been harvested and dried as a food and a traditional material for a very long time, and it is known as the sea cucumber, the hai shen or the beche-de-mer.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The sea cucumber has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the marine biology and the fisheries science, since the sea cucumber is one of the most important of the bottom-dwelling creatures of the warm seas, and the researchers have examined its biology, its reproduction, its feeding and its role in the sea-floor ecosystems, while the study of the sea cucumbers and the aquaculture has drawn attention in the international marine and fisheries press. The creature has also been studied in the chemistry and the marine natural-products science, since the sea cucumbers contain a range of compounds including the saponins and the polysaccharides, and the researchers have examined the body, its constituents and its composition, while the study of the marine-derived materials has been of continuing interest, and the creature is best appreciated as a food and a subject of study rather than a casual remedy. The species has also been studied in the aquaculture and the mariculture, since the sea cucumber is farmed in the ponds and the sea pens of the East, and the researchers have examined the farming methods and the sustainable production, while the place of the sea cucumber in the coastal economy has been of interest to the agricultural scientists. For a creature of such value, the sea cucumber has a rich and distinguished record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Sea Cucumber from seed, ecologically, the sea cucumber is a quiet recycler of the sea floor. Its feeding on the detritus and the organic matter helps to clean and to aerate the sandy and the muddy bottom, and its presence is a sign of the health of the marine ecosystem, while the sea cucumbers are a part of the food web of the sea floor, being fed upon by the larger fishes and the crustaceans. Its economic value is real: the sea cucumber is prized as a delicacy and a traditional food in the kitchens of the East, and its value has drawn attention in the international fisheries and trade press, while the dried sea cucumber has been one of the most valuable of the marine products, and the sustainable farming and the careful harvest are necessary to protect the wild populations. To raise the sea cucumber, keep them in a clean sandy-bottom tank with gentle flow and natural detritus, and maintain the water well-oxygenated for the health of these bottom-dwelling creatures.
keep the young sea cucumbers in a clean sandy-bottom tank with gentle flow and natural detritus, and maintain the water well-oxygenated for the health of these bottom-dwelling creatures.
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea. They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. There are a number of holothurian species and genera, many of which are targeted for human consumption. The harvested product is variously referred to as trepang, bêche-de-mer or balate. From the nutritional viewpoint, sea cucumber is an ideal tonic food. It is higher in protein (at 55%) than most any other food except egg whites (at 99%) and it has 10-16% mucopolysaccharides, substances that are used to build the cartilage. Sea cucumber is lower in fat than most other foods. From the modern medical viewpoint, sea cucumber is a valuable source of several kinds of substances that can serve as natural health products, and, perhaps, be developed as drugs. Since sea cucumber is consumed as a food by a very small segment of the population outside East Asia, most people do not have access to its beneficial components. Thus, extracts of desired sea cucumber materials are put into easy-to-consume formats, such as capsules (hard and soft gelatin) and tablets. Sea cucumber, having a cartilagenous body, serves as a rich source of mucopolysaccharides, mainly chondroitin sulfate, which is well-known for its ability to reduce arthritis pain, especially that of osteoarthritis As little as 3 grams per day of the dried sea cucumber has been helpful in significantly reducing arthralgia. Chondroitins action is similar to that of glucosamine sulfate, the main building block of chondroitin. To prepare the sea cucumber after it is collected, the internal organs are removed, and dirt and sand are washed out of the cavity. It is then boiled in salty water and dried in the air to preserve it. When readied for use in making food, the hard, dried sea cucumber is softened. The process is quite lengthy, which is why this food tends to appear at special dinners and banquets more so than in day-to-day cuisine. To soften the dried sea cucumbers, the instructions are: place the sea cucumbers in a pot and add cold water to cover; soak for at least 12 hours; then cook over low heat for 1 to 2 hours; add more water, as necessary, to make sure that the water always covers the cucumbers; remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, then drain.