• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.605-611
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• 2012

Sea cucumber, $Stichopus$ $japonicus$, is used not only as an outstanding tonic food but also as a traditional medicine for the treatment of asthma, hypertension, rheumatism, anemia, and sinus congestion. The purpose of this study was to examine sea cucumber as an anti-gastritis and anti-gastric ulcer in HCl-ethanol-induced gastric and $H.$ $pylori$-infected animal models. Thirty 7-week-old SD rats and Mongolian gerbils were divided into normal (Nor, n=6), control (Con, 60% HCl-ethanol+water, n=6), groupI (DSCI, 60% HCl-ethanol+sea cucumber 30 mg/kg, n=6), groupII (DSCII, 60% HCl-ethanol+sea cucumber 100 mg/kg, n=6), and group III (DSCIII, 60% HCl-ethanol+sea cucumber 300 mg/kg, n=6). Sea cucumber significantly suppressed gastric lesions and ulcers in the 60% HCl-ethanol-induced gastric model. Especially, 100 mg/kg of sea cucumber showed significantly inhibitory effects. In histopathological analysis of the $H.$ $pylori$ model, we found that sea cucumber augmented the eradication rates of $H.$ $pylori$ and attenuated gastric ulcer formation. Our results suggest that sea cucumber has inhibitory effects on gastritis and gastric ulcers. In addition, sea cucumber can be applied for the treatment of $H.$ $pylori$.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.292-299
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• 2021

In this study, a study was attempted to confirm the yield of the solvent fraction for extracting physiologically active substances of polyphenols and flavonoids in sea cucumber. In the previously reported cases, the 50% ethanol extraction solvent fraction was confirmed as a result of high yield of sea cucumber antioxidants. The determination of the amount of antioxidants extracted from sea cucumber was confirmed as a result of the extraction solvent fraction applied to the extraction. In addition, the necessity of extraction of the solvent fraction was obtained through a previous study that 'there is a significant difference in the content of sea cucumber physiologically active antioxidants extracted depending on the extraction solvent.' The results of extracting high antioxidants from the phenolic substances contained in the sea cucumber extract of the 50% ethanol extraction solvent fraction were demonstrated. In the study case of extraction solvent fraction, the ethyl acetate solvent fraction, which yielded the lowest, yielded a higher phenol content than other solvent fractions, and the antioxidant effect was confirmed. Accordingly, it was confirmed that the effect on the high yield of the antioxidant extract through the yield change according to the application of the extraction solvent fraction was performed. Therefore, it was verified as an optimized sea cucumber physiologically active substance extraction solvent fraction of 50% ethanol solvent.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.886-891
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• 2013

We analyzed surface sediments to explain the substrate characteristics of sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus habitat. The analyses included grain-size determination, water content (WC), loss on ignition (IL), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and acid volatile sulfide (AVS) content. We obtained data on sea cucumber density, weight, and length at each station in a marine farming area in the middle of Korea's Taean coast on the West (Yellow) Sea in May, 2012. The apparent density of S. japonicus was high in coarse and bimodal sediments, whereas it was low in fine and unimodal sediments. The mass of S. japonicus was greater in fine than in coarse sediments, showing a different trend from sea cucumber density. The values for WC, IL, COD, and AVS in surface sediments were higher in areas with high densities of S. japonicus than in areas with low sea cucumber densities. In particular, the concentration of AVS was much higher than the value proposed in Japanese criteria for areas with high S. japonicus density.

• 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.49 no.2
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• pp.168-175
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• 2016

We conducted a 90-day feeding experiment to evaluate the growth and energy budget of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Sea cucumbers with a mean initial wet body weight of 3.03±0.06 g were fed one of the following three diets: an eel fecal solid diet, rainbow trout fecal solid diet, or a commercial diet at a water temperature of 17±1℃ and salinity of 32±1 psu. The results suggested that the diets affected the final body weight, specific growth rate (SGR), food ingestion, feces production ratio, and hence the growth and energy budget of the sea cucumbers. Sea cucumbers fed the eel and rainbow trout fecal solid diets showed poorer energy absorption, assimilation, and growth than those fed the commercial diet. The sea cucumbers fed the commercial diet had a significantly higher SGR and proportion of energy used for growth than those fed the other two diets. Sea cucumbers fed the rainbow trout fecal solid diet showed a comparatively higher ingestion rate and feces production ratio than those fed the commercial diet. The eel and rainbow trout fecal solid diets, therefore, were not suitable for sea cucumbers in intensive cultivation. Our findings will facilitate further development of more appropriate diets for culture of sea cucumber.

• 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 Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.2154-2161
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• 2014

Growth analysis and selection of sea cucumbers (Stichopus japonicas) is typically performed through length or weight measurements. However, because sea cucumbers continuously change shape depending on the external environment, weight measurement has been the preferred approach. Weight measurements require extensive time and labor, moreover it is often difficult to accurately weigh sea cucumbers because of their wet surface. The present study measured sea cucumber features, including the body length, width, and thickness, by using a vision system and regression analysis to generate $R^2$ values that were used to develop a weight estimation algorithm. The $R^2$ value between the actual volume and weight of the sea cucumbers was 0.999, which was relatively high. Evaluation of the performance of this algorithm using cross-validation showed that the root mean square error and worst-case prediction error were 1.434 g and ${\pm}5.879g$, respectively. In addition, the present study confirmed that the proposed weight estimation algorithm and single slide rail device for weight measurement can measure weights at approximately 4,500 sea cucumbers per hour.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.337-342
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• 2016

Sea cucumbers have been an important part of human diets throughout history; demand is increasing every year, making the species a target for coastal resource development. New harvesting technologies have been developed in response to demand, including nursery production and insemination aquaculture, but such methods produce relatively few individuals and productivity per unit area is very small. For example, captures are prohibited during July and August due to the breeding season, and sea cucumbers aestivate during the hot season and hibernate during the cold season, all factors that limit natural-environment production in Korea. Problems with slow growth of sea cucumbers have been encountered in previous rearing experiments. To assess the importance of feeding ecology on sea cucumber growth, we conducted pond-bottom and lantern-net culture experiments. Results showed that sea cucumbers in bottom cultures grew from 3.06 to 102.59 g, but those in lantern cultures only grew from 25.60 to 28.03 g.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.1281-1286
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• 2018

The sea cucumber, which is distributed over 1,500 species worldwide, is a highly value-added variety that has been considered an important source of marine resources in many countries for a long period of time. Most of the research on sea cucumbers involves the effectiveness of food and its extractions; however, there was no research on the extraction of sea cucumbers. In response, this research suggested a boundary detection algorithm to extract the special spot of sea cucumbers Therefore, in order to capture a large quantity of high value-added in sea cucumbers and we believe that they will be a great help to the sea cucumber recognition program in the future.