• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.135-140
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• 2012

To diversify usage of aquacultural red sea cucumber, new Kimchi containing red sea cucumber was developed and its quality and consumer preference were studied. The pH and total acidity, index of Kimchi ripening, decreased till 7 days of storage, then pH change became blunt and finally reached optimum pH 4-4.5. The amount of reducing sugar gradually decreased during storage period. The number of lactic acid bacteria increased in early fermentation period in both Kimchi containing boiled and fresh red sea cucumber, however, more lactic acid bacteria found in fresh red sea cucumber containing Kimchi. Preference of Kimchi containing boiled or fresh red sea cucumber compared to control Kimchi containing fermented salted fish was evaluated. The results revealed there were no differences in color, flavor, texture, taste, after taste and overall preference.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2020

This study aims to review the progress of biotechnological applications of sea cucumber and presents fundamental validation data on a range of methods and applications to determine the most promising fields for future exploitation and application. Sea cucumbers from different regions, subjected to numerous industrially applicable drying methods, were evaluated for their biochemical composition. The study highlights the nutritional excellence of Jeju red sea cucumber, particularly the high amino acid and fatty acid composition of its intestinal organs and the possibility of the industrial utilization of these organs. In addition, an efficient extraction method to extract collagen and chondroitin sulfate from red sea cucumber was established. The extracted collagen and chondroitin sulfate can be used as commercially valid biomaterials. Accordingly, the red sea cucumber was confirmed as a valuable source of raw food material of varied functionality and bioactivity. Upon conducting an analysis of patents thus far relating to the sea cucumber, it was found that the associated technology was limited to some parts of primary and secondary industries. Therefore, there is a clear need for the strategic development of technologies to produce specialized functional products from sea cucumber's raw materials, with a view to promote other related industries.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2020

Stichopus japonicas (red sea cucumbers) inhabit the coastal sea surrounding Jeju Island, South Korea, and are thought to have various medicinal properties. In this study, we investigated the anticancer activity of a red sea cucumber (S. japonicus) collected from Jeju Island. We obtained the red sea cucumber extract (RSCE), and observed that it inhibited the tumor cell growth and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production associated with the induction of apoptosis through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in murine colon carcinoma cells (CT-26). Treatment with RSCE and N-acetylcysteine, which is a ROS scavenger, increased ROS production and apoptosis via the regulation by the MAPK pathway on the ERK and JNK compared with the nontreated group. Therefore, RSCE promotes ROS-mediated suppression of the ERK and JNK activation, and subsequently inhibits cancer progression, suggesting that RSCE may be beneficial in treating colon carcinoma.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.466-473
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• 2015

The juvenile red variant of the sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus is distributed worldwide. It is a valuable food source in Korea, China, and Japan. Major issues in farming the juvenile red variant sea cucumber include growth rates and disease resistance. In recent years, studies have focused on feed additives to enhance immune system and health. In this study, we used a common diet (CD), a nutritional diet (ND; mixed nutritional supplements), and an immunity diet (ID; mixed probiotics, spirulina, and levan) and compared the growth rates and immunity of juvenile red variant sea cucumbers fed the experimental diets for 12 weeks. The growth and survival rates in the ID group were significantly increased (P>0.05). This suggests that the feed additives positively influenced immunity and growth in the ID group. However, the immune activity was exhibit a stabilizing effect, and further investigation of immune effects is required.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.707-716
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• 2020

Red sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus, was dried using three methods-far-infrared ray, vacuum, and freeze drying and then enzymatically hydrolyzed using nine proteases: Alcalase, Flavourzyme, Kojizyme, Neutrase, Protamex, trypsin, α-chymotrypsin, and papain. In addition, the potential ability of hydrolysates to inhibit lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes was evaluated. The yield of hydrolysates from red sea cucumbers dried using each method was higher than that of the distilled water extract, and protein contents were either similar or higher. The hydrolysates that exhibited inhibitory effects on lipid accumulation, as demonstrated via Oil red O staining, were those obtained by far-infrared ray drying coupled with Alcalase, Flavourzyme, Kojizyme, or Neutrase treatment. In addition to the advantages of far-infrared drying and the characteristics of Flavourzyme, the Flavourzyme hydrolysate of far-infrared-dried red sea cucumber showed the highest inhibitory effect on lipid accumulation. In addition, this hydrolysate significantly decreased the expression of the protein factor fatty acid-binding protein 4, which is related to the late differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Taken together, these results suggest that Flavourzyme hydrolysates from farinfrared-dried red sea cucumber may be used as a functional food and/or a pharmaceutical ingredient for the inhibition of lipid accumulation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.681-687
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• 2018

Recently, several researchers have been developing cosmetics from natural ingredients for skin whitening and anti-aging products. The red sea cucumber (RSC), Apostichopus japonicas, is a species of sea cucumber in the family stichopodiae, which is widely distributed in China, Japan, and Korea. To use Red Sea Cucumber as a cosmetic ingredient, its inhibitory effects on melanogenesis and the anti-aging effects of RSC extracts were investigated. First, a tyrosinase activity assay was performed, which showed that RSC inhibited tyrosinase activity at a concentration of $200{\mu}g/ml$. An MTT assay was carried out to evaluate cell toxicity, and the results showed that RSC extract has no cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of tyrosinase, tyrosinase related protein 1 (TRP-1), tyrosinase related protein 2 (TRP-2), microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), and matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) genes treated with RSC extract in B16F10 and HaCaT cells decreased. Moreover, a wound-healing assay was performed to identify the cell regeneration effect of RSC extracts. Also, a skin turnover effect was confirmed by creating a three-dimensional cell culture with HaCaT and human fibroblasts. Altogether, the results suggested that Red Sea Cucumber may possess a high ability to induce whitening and anti-wrinkle effects as a cosmeceutical ingredient.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.690-697
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• 2022

This study was conducted to analyze genome of red sea cucumber and to use it as basic data for the development of genetic markers for red sea cucumber. Microsatellite marker analysis of Ulleungdo_normal and Ulleungdo_native red sea cucumbers revealed that dinucleotide simple sequence repeats (SSRs) had the highest ratio, at 81.3~81.4%, and the number of the detected SSRs tended to decrease as the number of repeating sequence units in SSRs increased. In general, microsatellites with between 5 and 10 iterations were most common. As the size of the SSR repeating sequence units increased, the SSR iterations gradually decreased. The di-, tri-, and tetra-nucleotides in SSRs were detected in the highest numbers as (AT)₅, (AAT)₅, and (AAAT)₅, respectively. (CG) and (CCG) had very low frequencies compared to the numbers of other repeating SSR units. The numbers of di-and tri-nucleotide repeats were up to 35 and 32, respectively, and then increased discontinuously up to 44 and 43 repeats, respectively. Tetra-, penta-, and hexa-nucleotides in SSRs occurred in numbers up to 25, 21 and 14, respectively. This analysis of red sea cucumber indicated that it maintains its own repetition sequence and repetition number; therefore, we suggest that using it as basic data for molecular marker will be possible in future research.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.72-80
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• 1997

To elucidate food value and medicinal effect of sea cucumbers, sugar composition of those gly-coprotein and chondroitin sulfate was studied. The contents of sulfate esters in sea cucumbers were 1.21%(blue), 0.90%(red) and 1.19%(black). Predominant carbohydrates were identified as fucose, glucose, D-mannuronic acid and N-acetylglucosamine, and those amount was more than 80% to total carbo-hydrate, while the minor sugar composition was ribose, mannose, galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine and D-glucuronic acid. Also, the major carbohydrate moiety of glycoproteins of sea cucumbers was revealed as fucose, mannose, N-acetylglucosamine, glucose and ribose, and those amount was more than 86% to total carbohydrate. Galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine, D-glucuronic acid and mannuronic acid were minor carbohydrate moiety. The contents of sulfate esters in glycoproteins were 0.96% for blue sea cucumber, 1.15% for red sea cucumber and 1.13% for black sea cucumber, while those in chondroitin sulfates were 3.52%(blue), 3.60%(red) and 3.72%(black). The carbohydrate moiety of chondroitin sulfate was identified as N-acetylgalactosamine (73~ 87%), fucose (7~15%) and D-glucuronic acid(5~12%). As the base on the IR spectrum of strong absorption appeared in 1240$cm^{-1}$ / for stretching vibrations in S=0 group and weak absorptions in 850$cm^{-1}$ / and 820$cm^{-1}$ /for stretching vibrations in C-0-S group, chondroitin sulfates had sulfate group which was bound to $C_4$in fucose.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.350-358
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• 1998

The antimutagenic and anticancer activities of glycoprotein(GP) and chondroitin sulfate(CS) from sea cucumbers were studied using Ames mutagenicity test and human cancer cells culture test. The GP's inhibitory effect toward aflatoxin B1(AFB1) and 3, 2'-dimethyl-4-amino-biphenyl(DMAB) increased with the higher added concentrations up to 5% level(w/w) regardless fractionation methods. The GP from sea cucumbers through DEAE-cellulose column chromatography showed an inhibitory effect ranged from 84 to 98%, and the maximum antimutagenicities resulted in red sea cucumber with 98% (AFB1) and 95% (DMAB). But 5% level of CS from various sea cucumbers had an inhibitory effect toward those both indirect mutagens ranged from 79% to 85%. However, in case of direct mutagens(N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, MNNG and 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide, 4-NQO), the GP's inhibitory effect was 55∼78% and the CS had a low inhibitory effect(58∼70%) at the added level of 5%. The GP from sea cucumbers exhibited the strong inhibitory effects with 89∼95% and 82∼92% on the growth of HT-29 human crcinoma cells and AZ-521 human gastric cancer cells (at 5% level).

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 2023

The sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, is one of the most valuable aquatic species. The color of body wall and appearance are important for the value of sea cucumbers. To examine expression pattern of long-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (LCAD), nuclear distribution C-containing protein 3 (NUDCD3), and receptor tyrosine kinase Tie-1 (TIE1), previously reported as differently expressed genes during the pigmentation of sea cucumber, we analyzed the temporal profiles of LCAD, NUDCD3, and TIE1 mRNAs in LED-exposed and light-shielded A. japonicus. Real-time quantitative PCR revealed that the LCAD, NUDCD3, and TIE1 mRNAs from the juveniles at 40-60 days post-fertilization (dpf) exhibited increasing patterns as compared to those of an early developmental larva (6-dpf). At 60-dpf juveniles, the LCAD and TIE1 mRNA levels of LED-exposed individuals were higher than those of light-shielded ones, whereas at 40-dpf and 50-dpf juveniles, the NUDCD3 mRNA expression was higher in the light-shielded condition (p<0.05). In the pigmented juveniles (90-dpf), the LCAD and TIE1 mRNA levels tended to show higher levels in red individuals than those in green ones, but there was a conversely higher level of NUDCD3 mRNA in green larva. In situ examination of LCAD and NUDCD3 mRNAs in light-shielded 6-dpf larva revealed that both genes are mainly expressed in the internal organs compared to the body surface. Together, these results may provide insights into the differential gene expression of LCAD, NUDCD3, and TIE1 during pigmentation process of the sea cucumber.